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By Nalbro Bartley 


Up and Coming 
Judd & Judd 



JUDD & JUDD 



NALBRO BARTLEY 

AUTHOR OF “ UP AND COMING ” 


G.P. Putnam’s Sons 

I'JewYork & London 
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Copyright; 1524 
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Nalbro Bartley 





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JUDD & JUDD 


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JUDD & JUDD 


CHAPTER I 

That she was a home loving but not home baking 
individual was Blair’s conclusion, despite the honey¬ 
moon glamour of Twilldo, the three room apart¬ 
ment, and Tony’s tribute as to her being the world’s 
tenth wonder! 

While ashamed of simmering discontent, Blair re¬ 
sented the influx of company which invariably stayed 
for dinner. She was not sufficient wonder to avoid a 
shiny nose and a stupid brain from necessary kitchen 
work. She found herself thinking that Anthony 
Judd never struggled with a refractory or dishonest 
cleaning woman, a roast resembling a leather 
cushion, the mystery of light pie crust. Tony could 
tell his aunt (thank fortune she was his only close 
relative) when to stop advising and commenting— 
Blair could not. Yet Blair appreciated the older 
woman’s interest, emphasized by these reiterated 
3 


4 


JUDD & JUDD 


facts: “You have no mother, my dear. It seems 
to me college fits girls for one thing—to have their 
own way. The women in the Judd family have al¬ 
ways been famous cooks.” 

Aunt Agnes Judd’s old fashioned presence, dis¬ 
approving of their entire college romance, added to 
Tony’s ever hungry one, seemed to crowd out Blair’s 
individual place in the firmament. 

She felt harassed. It was an effort to remember 
that her genial but short sighted father and Aunt 
Agnes were “sweetie heirlooms” and “nice old fos¬ 
sils” as Tony and she once agreed. But this was 
before she was Tony’s housekeeper. 

She found herself recalling her father’s wonder- 
ings as to what Blair’s mid-Victorian mother would 
have said to an attractive yet strong minded daugh¬ 
ter who had majored in finance and advertising only 
to marry a classmate with similar qualifications? 
All very well for Tony, her father had protested, a 
man had to have a sheepskin these days if he wanted 
to get away with things; no other means unless he 
“grew side whiskers and started to paint caviar.” 
But a girl there was both doubt and dissatisfac¬ 
tion in his mind. Having sold her father the 
idea of a college education, he was secretly disap¬ 
pointed to see her exchange the diploma for a 


JUDD & JUDD 5 

marriage certificate while his son-in-law retained 
both. 

Having gone into the kitchen while Tony went 
into the office, Blair was beginning to wonder why 
she had ever taken the time and trouble to train for 
the latter? It had been Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Judd 
who enjoyed the Hot Springs honeymoon but it was 
Judd and wife who took up life at the Gramatan 
apartments, an imposing structure (if viewed from 
the front) wherein many families deluded them¬ 
selves that they were enjoying home life. 

Absorbed in valentine happiness, neither Judd nor 
wife realized this transition in title. Their pooled 
and energetic ambitions, which already included a 
dignified semi-country home, regarded this apart¬ 
ment merely as a “Twilldo.” Better this than a long 
drawn out engagement. Contrary to Aunt Agnes, 
who felt young people should buy their furniture for 
eternity before presuming to marry, Blair and Tony 
held that one could start housekeeping these days 
with a parchment lamp shade and a brace of can 
openers. 

Tony had had no need to learn the multitude of 
new and bewildering things which caused his wife to 
forget the old and interesting ones. During the first 
weeks, Blair wondered how Tony would have re- 


6 


JUDD & JUDD 


acted had he stayed home to wash dishes, clean the 
ice box, pound round steak into pretending it was 
porterhouse, wash out silk things (no lady trusts 
them to any laundry, Aunt Agnes had remarked), 
arrange pantry shelves, listen to the culinary tastes 
of one’s life partner, supply a cabinet of home reme¬ 
dies, make a comprehensive survey of the prices and 
merits of various stores—and not let the disad¬ 
vantages of the apartment become annoying, say the 
cluttered fire-escapes, the community washlines, the 
disorderly tradesmen’s alley, the necessity to bait 
mouse traps! 

For an antidote, she suggested to Tony that he 
tell her of business. But Tony was “fed up on 
shop,” he defended, it was a blessed relief to come to 
Twilldo and find Blair in a bronzed silk gown, his 
ring on her finger, his aunt’s food on the little din¬ 
ing room table. He wanted to relax, it would be 
impossible to tell Blair the details of his day unless 
she were in the office with him, able to comprehend 
intelligently when he mentioned a certain contract 
or employee. 

Blair felt rebuffed. She, who understood Tony’s 
work in the advertising agency as far as theory was 
concerned, would have welcomed the stimulus. 

“I like to shut a mental door on the whole darned 


JUDD & JUDD 


7; 


office/’ Tony insisted, “would any man want to 
come home to talk business when he can look at 
you?” 

It was still the honeymoon so Blair did not press 
the point. But she consoled herself with the thought 
that, if the occasion arose, they could talk busi¬ 
ness and with mutual benefit. Had it not been 
Blair Norcross and Anthony Judd, in the junior ad¬ 
vertising contest, who won the prize due to their 
efficient team work? Their posters and booklets 
had attracted outside attention to the extent that 
Tony’s present position could be traced to this under¬ 
graduate achievement! Then it had been brain and 
brain—not heart to heart! 

But this did not help her when Polly Arnold, her 
ravishing and sometimes rouged classmate, came to 
eat up her tea cakes and confide that Bill Farnsworth 
would call later. This meant Bill would appear to 
play horrible discords on her piano, make love to 
Polly—and stay to dinner as a “surprise for that 
miserable old married man.” 

Blair would loot her ice box while Polly played 
at setting the table. After the fashion of house¬ 
keepers, Blair protested it was more trouble to have 
a helper in her kitchenette than to do things herself, 
so she would wash the dishes, empty that damnable 


8 


JUDD & JUDD 


ice box pan, put the to-morrow’s ticket in the moist 
milk bottle, hang up the cards for the ice man and 
baker, bait the mouse trap and set out the breakfast 
china on a tray to save time in the morning. As 
she discarded her apron, she would long to go to bed 
instead of playing bridge and accompaniments for 
Polly. 

Nor could Polly understand why Blair did not 
take part in the Garret Club French play. But Blair 
chose to go with Tony; she felt sedate, almost slug¬ 
gish as she watched her friends present The 
Misanthrope. 

Her former chum, Roxanna Hubbell, was also 
annoying. Roxy, who was on an independent sched¬ 
ule and regarded men and fancy work as 
inventions of the devil, had been admitted to the bar 
and was in the employ of a conservative firm which 
was both shocked yet impressed by her. Long ago, 
Roxy abandoned her “polite, white kid gloved 
family” to live in a bachelor girl’s flat. She 
had taken to mannish dress and a scraggly terrier in 
her freshman year. Her personality was so clever 
and crystallized that even those who ridiculed her 
prophesied a brilliant future Roxy was pardonably 
conceited, well aware people looked after her when 
she walked downtown. She was addicted to 


JUDD & JUDD 


9 


cigarettes, goodlooking neckties, vers libre. Her 
thin, clearcut face with its clipped, dark hair and her 
swaggering walk were as well known as the civil war 
monument. Roxy had tried hard to induce Blair to 
join the serious minded sisterhood but Blair had 
been proven immune. 

After Blair’s marriage, Roxy considered herself 
as being responsible for Blair’s contacts with the 
outside world. Therefore, she tumbled into Twilldo 
at any and all hours. Say two a.m.—after a mid¬ 
night court session—because she wanted “clothes for 
a nice kid needing a boost, I’ll take them to the ma¬ 
tron—I couldn’t ask the kid to wear my regimentals. 
I know you won’t fail me!” Here, Roxy lit a 
cigarette and strummed on the piano to Tony’s ever¬ 
lasting indignation. But Blair, half asleep, bundled 
some clothes into a bag, told Roxy she was impos¬ 
sible and kissed her goodbye in amused forgiveness. 

Roxy was apt to interrupt their Sundays—a day 
devoted to mongrel jobs such as clothes press¬ 
ing, shampoos, light carpentry. Blair had surren¬ 
dered her Sundays to Tony. Before marriage, Tony 
devoted his Sundays to Blair. 

Things had blurred after the first months of mar¬ 
riage. Blair’s personal reactions became confused 
with her decision as to the best furniture polish, how 


10 


JUDD & JUDD 


to treat the claim agent from the hand laundry 
which had spirited away an underslip, the real rea¬ 
son Tony refused to eat her meat loaf! Her brain 
cells needed recharging, she complained to Tony, 
who answered any protest with a kiss. 

Moreover their expenses worried Blair to the ex¬ 
tent that when asked to be chairman of the Garret 
Club programme committee, she refused and with 
regret. Not only the time needed for the committee 
but the money necessary for informal entertaining 
were her reasons. Blair was realizing that it was 
absurd to try making two plus two equal five or even 
four and a half, which was what they had done since 
they came to live at Twilldo. Neither Tony nor 
Blair had felt the gray wolf or the prancing 
peacock at their door. They were neither avaricious 
nor wasters. Interesting ideas were as intriguing as 
jazzmania, a good book was a friend, proper clothes 
were inconsequential after a certain point, up to that 
point they were a necessity the same as attending 
a certain number of concerts, class reunions, possess¬ 
ing reliable fountain pens. They preferred con¬ 
genial people to moneyed, bizarre personalities. 
Their discrimination had a tendency to superiority. 
Perhaps this was due to the esoteric result of a liberal 
university education. Life had been theoretically 


JUDD & JUDD 


ii 


analyzed in mellowed, somewhat altruistic terms. 
True, experience was yet to be had and experience 
and theory are oftentimes polarities. Yet life, per 
se, could neither bully nor nauseate these young 
people whose intentions were to prove that life is a 
thing to be enjoyed quite as much as to be improved. 

The day following Blair’s refusal as chairman, she 
decided to ignore telephone and speaking tube and 
secure the day for herself. After the usual kitchen 
routine, her programme was to include a cold cream 
facial, a hair wave, a self inflicted manicure—thus 
saving two dollars—remodelling a trousseau frock 
for an ad club dance, a summary of her own and 
Tony’s backgrounds and the creating of a financial 
system which would meet the necessary Judd ex¬ 
penditures ! Then she would do an article on juve¬ 
nile book advertising; she wanted Tony’s trade 
journal to print it. Having planned it for days, she 
would be able to set it down via her typewriter in 
less than an hour. Heaven bless her generous father 
who had given her the portable machine two sum¬ 
mers ago! 

By two o’clock, Blair was ready to summarize 
backgrounds. 


CHAPTER II 


Blair's mother had died when she was twelve. 
After which breaking up of the conventional home, 
Blair went to a city boarding school, her vacations 
being spent with cousins at the shore or joining her 
father, who travelled for an importing house, on the 
road. 

Blair’s had been the well bred, unchaperoned 
freedom of many American girls, the sort who use 
rouge when they like or don knickers and vanish for 
a week-end hike. During her freshman year, she 
had been considered a trifle too hearty. When 
rushed for a sorority, she was almost blackballed 
because she ate the foundation lettuce leaves of her 
salad. In her sophomore year, she attempted 
social service work, did holiday clerking, visited in 
Greenwich village. Previous to the junior advertis¬ 
ing contest, she had a normal case of flapperitis with 
cutey complications during which she wore a tweed 
cape, sandals, learned barefoot dancing and to shake 
dice. 

Tony had been raised by his mother and his 


12 


JUDD & JUDD 


13 


father’s sister but he had done much to live it down. 
Like Blair, he considered himself a deep, independent 
thinker and killed any hope of becoming a mission¬ 
ary long before finishing high school. Tony prided 
himself on being an agnostic, he was to go in for 
fiction which should be a blend of de Maupassant 
and Nietzsche but he abandoned the idea during his 
freshman year due to premature efforts. In 
sophomore and junior years, he was prominent as 
an athletic star, known as a “non-queener”; his aim 
was to create a sulphitic advertising agency which 
would result in his being New York’s millionaire 
but cynical bachelor! During this time, Blair flitted 
across his consciousness only in the form of a busi¬ 
ness rival, the unwilling admission that it was as 
much her brain as his which won them the junior 
contest—too bad, she was a girl. Otherwise he 
might have proposed taking her into his agency. 

Not until their junior vacation did these dauntless 
egotists meet at the Maine coast where followed a 
spontaneous surrender of hearts and fraternity pins. 
Thereupon, the senior year became a glorified space 
of time, unengaged classmates regarding them with 
awe and envy. Mental team work gave way to mu¬ 
tual adoration. 

Following graduation, Blair accepted a position 


14 


JUDD & JUDD 


as secretary in an iron foundry office—Tony was 
given a chance with the town’s largest advertising 
agency. Blair remained in the position long enough 
to buy her trousseau and demonstrate, so she be¬ 
lieved, that she was self-supporting! 

Despite the fact that to marry two weeks after 
Christmas was anything but customary, they ar¬ 
ranged for as simple a wedding as possible, refusing 
Roxy’s plea for a justice of the peace and Aunt 
Agnes’ longing for white satin and a veil. This 
marriage ceremony seemed merely incidental. They 
wanted to begin creating their own home, the right, 
as Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Davenport Judd, to be let 
alone. Tradition fretted them just as the future fas¬ 
cinated, love obscured humdrum reality. They felt 
themselves supreme sentimentalists as they stood in 
the hotel parlor to condescendingly repeat the minis¬ 
ter’s phrases. 

Blair was convinced all was right with the world. 
Her father’s life as a successful travelling man had 
no need of her efforts. She was resolved to be tender 
and considerate of Tony’s aunt. She might have 
regretted her mother but for the paramount happi¬ 
ness of the present. She felt competent to be Mrs. 
Anthony Judd due to her commonsense, sturdy 
outlook on life. Tony was bound to be a super 


JUDD & JUDD 


15 


husband, they agreed in every possible matter from 
immortality of the soul down to salad dressing— 
poor Roxy! Why did she rail against marriage, 
take a bachelor flat? What could Polly see in Bill 
Farnsworth? What a pity everyone was not mar¬ 
ried to a Tony Judd! 

Besides, their marriage differed from many mar¬ 
riages, so Blair was convinced. She shared with 
Tony mystical proof that theirs was a partnership of 
the very soul. (Blair was unconscious of lurid 
descriptives, she was somewhat overwhelmed with 
the evidence that their marriage was never to be 
laid aside.) 

Tony, too, reverenced this secret proof, agreeing 
that the sceptical world must have no chance to 
scoff at the amazing incident. 

Just before their engagement, when Blair asked 
herself if she was sure Tony Judd would be the right 
man and Tony drew Blair’s initials in the sand, 
proof had been given them. 

Leaving Blair bent on a picnic party, Tony had 
gone to a classmate’s camp, three miles in the oppo¬ 
site direction. During the stag luncheon, he experi¬ 
enced the sensation of Blair’s calling to him. 
Material details about him blurred into a fog out of 
which emerged Blair’s figure, helpless, in danger, her 


JUDD & JUDD 


16 

hands outstretched. After a moment of hesitation, 
Tony found himself asking for the loan of the fliv¬ 
ver, making some hasty excuse about forgetting to 
meet a train. 

Calling himself all sorts of an idiot, he found him¬ 
self following an unused mud road. Driving reck¬ 
lessly, he wondered if he was turning queer—far 
better it happened before Blair had promised to 
marry him—were there any Judds who had been 
mentally awry? Presently, he found himself draw¬ 
ing up beside a stone fence, picking his way across 
the pastures and into the woods. He did not question 
whether or not this was the picnic ground or whether 
he would be laughed at—or locked up. These 
seemed beside the issue. Some impelling yet not 
unpleasant force seemed to push him ahead, made 
him turn here—there—until he looked up at a ragged 
rim of rock and tree roots to which Blair was cling¬ 
ing! Most surprising had been his calm satisfaction 
at knowing he had not been victim of an unsteady 
brain. 

With quick assurance, he climbed up to rescue her, 
realizing Blair was so much his that they had been 
permitted one glorified instant of contact with the 
forces most people spend their lives trying to elude 
or deny! 


JUDD & JUDD 


17 

As he drew her to safety, she said: “I knew you 
would come—I am not hurt—not even hysterical. I 
saw flowers over the ledge—I didn’t gauge the dis¬ 
tance and when I lost balance, all I could do was to 
catch hold something and just manage to hang on. 
I knew you’d come—because we loved each other. 
Don’t ask me why—I knew it.” 

“The picnic—” he had whispered. 

“Given up because Diane’s sister came and they 
wanted to visit while they unpacked. I went for a 
consoling hike. But Tony—how did you know 
where I was?” The strangeness of the thing 
frightened her. “It seems so simple yet overpower¬ 
ing—and when you try putting it into words, so 
silly!” 

“It means that we belong to each other,” Tony 
whispered, “we can’t translate this into everyday 
terms—nor must we try. It means that we belong.” 

“A sort of cosmic wireless,” Blair had added, “a 
holy of holies we were allowed to listen in on—per¬ 
haps only once in a lifetime. It was our message— 
no, we must never tell anyone.” 

With an effort, Blair roused herself from the 
thrill of this memory to take into practical considera¬ 
tion the Judd finances! 

The rent for Twilldo was sixty-five a month, with 


i8 


JUDD & JUDD 


a dollar tip to both janitor and hall boy. Total— 
sixty-seven. Their food budget seemed obese, de¬ 
spite Aunt Agnes’ contributions. Tony scorned left¬ 
overs. Blair admitted her extravagance. Many 
strange culinary messes had been dispatched with 
secrecy down the dumb waiter. Once, she had 
thrown away perfectly good cream because it would 
not whip! Another time, she used poultry season¬ 
ing in a lamb stew—a third offense was a cake made 
with baking soda instead of powder. These shame¬ 
ful deeds confronted her as, pencil in hand, she es¬ 
timated the food budget, inclusive of ice, was fifty- 
two dollars monthly, her cleaning woman, a heavy 
handed Slav with a penchant for afternoon tea, was 
twelve dollars and forty cents more. The rough 
dry laundry, Blair ironing it herself, came to eight 
dollars, and the telephone three fifty, light and gas 
about seven. Fortunately, Blair’s wardrobe and the 
household supplies needed no replenishing for the 
total of the current expenses was, her lips puckering 
in disapproval, one hundred forty nine dollars and 
ninety cents—with ten cents on the side for scour¬ 
ing powder! Tony’s salary was two hundred and 
twenty-five dollars, a splendid beginning for a chap 
not quite twenty-four. True, he earned it and fully 
expected a bonus if things went as he hoped for, 


JUDD & JUDD 


19 


but two hundred and twenty-five a month was all 
they could count on having. 

One hundred and fifty from two hundred and 
twenty-five left seventy-five dollars. Tony had life 
insurance, club expenses and personal laundry to 
meet, he walked to and from the office, bless him, 
and he agreed to take but thirty of the remaining 
seventy-five and to give Blair thirty for pin 
money. The remaining fifteen must be their minute 
but necessary nest egg. Blair’s father had given 
them a handsome check which had furnished the 
apartment. Tony had saved little due to an extrava¬ 
gant courtship, joining the ad club, buying his own 
“trousseau.” The Judds had but three hundred 
dollars in the bank to which the monthly fifteen was 
to be added with the solemnity of a rite. 

Thirty dollars pocket money—out of which Blair 
paid car fare or an occasional taxi, incidentals, 
amusements, charity contributions—it was not 
overly much. But it was still less for Tony with 
his business and life insurance obligations. Sensi¬ 
bly, she reflected upon the financial standing of their 
relatives. Aunt Agnes had an annuity, her 
old fashioned house in the downtown section 
was heavily mortgaged. She refused to sell 
her home, there were sentimental memories con- 


20 


JUDD & JUDD 


nected with every foot of the soil—even to the strip 
of land where her three pet dogs had been buried, 
wrapped in monogrammed bath towels! Blair be¬ 
lieved Tony’s aunt should remain unmolested. She 
considered it a most satisfactory state of affairs 
that Tony’s aunt was self supporting and that Tony 
was to expect no financial benefits from her. She 
smiled as she thought of her extravagant, bald 
headed, nervous father who wasted his money as he 
did his vitality. Blair cherished no illusions con¬ 
cerning him. His bank account no sooner thrived 
than it began to dwindle. 

Therefore, it was urgent, in order to have a real 
home and the family they wanted, that Tony advance 
in business and Blair help by conserving. She 
would make her first burnt offering by insisting he 
take fifteen of her thirty dollars allowance. He 
could appear more affluent, take a street car one 
way, well she knew that he was tired when he came 
in at night. Besides, daily walks prevented Sunday 
tramps. When they were engaged that was differ¬ 
ent, Tony was enduring the hardships of conquest. 

He might play golf—Blair’s elastic conception of 
the additional pocket money and Tony’s brilliant 
future were interrupted by Tony’s sudden appear¬ 


ance. 


JUDD & JUDD 


21 


“Blair, have you been all right?” he demanded, 
taking her in his arms. 

“You goose—and why not?’’ 

“Tried three times to get you on the wire. My 
dear little girl, don’t you realize how I worry if I 
even think anything is wrong with you?” 

Blair’s eyes were a happy blue. “How nice that 
sounds—to have you worry because you could not 
get me on a telephone.” 

“But you had said you would be here all day, no 
interruptions allowed. I couldn’t understand your 
not answering me. I’ve something important to 
tell you. I’m going to New York tonight—for the 
auto show. Ferguson, who always does it, is held 
on an important contract in Omaha—so the firm 
gave me the chance. I wanted to tell you first of all. 
I taxied home, yes, really—with visions of your 
fainting over the cookstove or tobogganing off the 
fire escape—darling, you should have answered,” he 
was kissing her as he spoke. 

“Be sensible, how could I know it was you tele¬ 
phoning? Besides,” in a serious voice, “had it been 
urgent, you would have known. You would have 
listened in—never doubt our ‘wireless,’ Tony.” 

“True enough. But,” with boyish eagerness, “I 
don’t disturb you?” 


22 


JUDD & JUDD 


“No,” a trifle slowly. “I’ve the nicest thing to 
tell you—I’ve decided to give you an extra fifteen 
dollars a month for pocket money—how does that 
compare with the firm's praises?” She explained 
the budget. 

Drawing her on his knee, Tony studied it for a 
moment. “You’re a wonder,” he conceded, “I wish 
Aunt Agnes was here to overhear. I call this proof 
of a trained mind—but I don’t want the extra 
money. It is yours—I wish it were five hundred.” 

“That is what counts—attitude,” she insisted, 
her lips pressing his cheek, “it means everything to 
have you feel so. Fifteen dollars more will help you 
make so much money that someday I can have the 
five hundred—who knows? I may have a rope of 
pearls yet! For now, use the extra money. I’ve 
no need for it—I sha’n’t need clothes for ever so long 
and I’m not going to be chairman of the Garret 
Club committee. Your clubs are enough for me. 
Don’t you see how much I trust you?” 

After a half hour of mutual admiration, Tony 
packed for the evening train. He disliked going 
without Blair, if only for a few days. She must 
meet him on his return and they would celebrate 
with dinner downtown, hang the expense! And— 
would she loan him the portable typewriter? She 


JUDD & JUDD 


23 


had no idea what a useful thing it would be, he could 
eliminate hotel stenographers and do stuff up in his 
room—he wanted his reports to make the firm take 
notice of his style. That was splendid of her—she 
always understood. 

After Blair waved goodbye, she realized, almost 
embarrassed at her sense of defeat, that the article on 
juvenile book advertising was still in her brain, the 
portable typewriter in Tony’s berth—but of course, 
she was very happy! 

She would do the article in longhand, she would 
have so much time while Tony was gone. But she 
reached the Gramatan to find Roxy waiting down¬ 
stairs. 

‘Tm here to be doctored up,” Roxy explained, 
“got a beastly cold. One of the office men told me 
Tony was going to New York—so I came straight 
to you. I’d have chosen a hospital only the babies’ 
wails penetrate every wall. If I went home, I’d be 
prayed over. I’m woozy and weak and my head 
feels like granite and my throat devastated by a por¬ 
cupine. I must be fit by Thursday—a big case is 
called—help me, child, won’t you?” 

So Roxy tumbled into bed to be nursed until the 
wire from Tony caused her to be unceremoniously 
deposed. During which interval, Blair learned that 


24 


JUDD & JUDD 


even liberated women who laugh at home ties and 
delight in massacring tradition, can be as fretsome 
and fearsome as the spineless ones upon whom these 
free lance philosophers delight to bear down. 

Tony arrived jubilant, enthusiastic—extremely 
hungry. 

“Don’t ask what I did or said or saw,” he begged, 
“I’m satiated with slick metropolis skin games, up¬ 
state bounders cutting up where their neighbors 
can’t see them, self-made personages handing out 
rolled cabbage leaves and expecting you to act as if 
they were coronas. I want to look at you and listen 
to you talk and realize what a lucky guy I am.” 

Blair thrilled at the homage. But the next day, 
she found that Tony had left her typewriter on his 
desk! Had he acquired it, too, as well as the addi¬ 
tional pocket money? 


CHAPTER III 


It was April before Blair met any of the Grama- 
tan tenants. The months at Twilldo had been so 
engrossing that she had not reflected upon the un¬ 
friendliness of the apartment house. 

It had been satisfactory until spring suggested 
itself. The first, cloying, sunny day with the muddy 
lawns decorated by blackened snow patches in the 
sunless corners, the wind like a swashbuckling 
herald of what was to follow, millinery windows, the 
florist’s display of violets and daffodils in dull green 
jars, the old horseradish vendor re-appearing on the 
corner—all this and the fact that fifteen dollars a 
month pin money does not provide an Easter outfit 
inspired Blair with a noble discontent. 

She did not want to shop with Aunt Agnes, she 
was glad her father was off on a long trip and Roxy, 
with co-workers, had gone to Bermuda. Blair be¬ 
came reckless to the extent of buying six jonquils 
and an overly ripe avacado. Getting out her ward¬ 
robe in order to decide what should be remodelled, 
she was reminded of Polly’s new and expensive 
25 


26 


JUDD & JUDD 


finery. Polly, not on speaking terms with Bill for 
the time being, had gone to her married sister in 
Chicago. Bill, nursing a grieved heart and working 
overtime to buy the engagement ring, did not drop 
in at Twilldo. Tony lunched with him frequently, he 
said, and kept up with what was stirring. 

It seemed to Blair that Tony lunched with so many 
persons and thus kept up with what was stirring 
that he did not consider it necessary to re-tell Blair. 
He preferred returning home to bask in her wifely 
affection, an infantile monster who was irritable if 
domestic details were awry or Blair unable to devote 
herself to him. Tony argued this was proof of an 
engrossing love, he cared for no one as he did for 
Blair—the longer they were married, the more he 
wanted her complete attention—did this mean 
nothing ? 

It meant a great deal, she had answered politely, 
concealing her thoughts. Only, she, too, would 
liked to have known “what was stirring.” She 
wearied of mild tea parties, conventional calls and 
she had voluntarily become passive in her club work. 
There were newspapers, truly, but Blair had any 
trained mind’s contempt for headlines. She wanted 
to be part of the warp and woof of world progress. 
Tony did not ask her to read proof on his articles 


any longer and once, before the spring fever, he 
said emphatically: 

“Stop suggesting how I handle my contracts— 
my dear girl, how could you be a competent critic ?” 

Her hands white from biscuit making, Blair 
vigorously plied the overfloured dough to a board¬ 
like consistency. “I think I understand your work,” 
she had begun. 

“Truly—theoretically—but you’ve never done 
anything but play around as secretary with your 
mind on buying a tortoise shell toilet set—and mar¬ 
rying me! You’ve been such a wonderful wife, you 
couldn’t have given attention to outside things.” 

“Admitted,” she said, with a vicious jab at the 
dough, “but has advertising revolutionized itself in¬ 
side of six months?” 

“No. But were I to try to explain each detail of 
my work, the personality and circumstances influenc¬ 
ing every order, our treatment of the same—oh, have 
a heart, Blair. Don’t you think a ten-hour grind is 
sufficient ? Particularly, when a man wants to come 
home to you?” He kissed the nape of her white 
neck with its tempting fluff of curls. “Come on, 
lovely, don’t try to do my job and yours too. For¬ 
get business—let’s go to the movies tonight—an 
awfully good comedy, they tell me.” 


28 


JUDD & JUDD 


Blair was obliged to discard the biscuits as a re¬ 
sult of emotional kneading. Tony was right, she re¬ 
proved herself, he needed contrast, she must under¬ 
stand. So she went to the movies and endured the 
horseplay corpedy, was faintly thrilled by the world 
scenes and the operatic overture—and returned home 
convinced that no matter what Tony appeared to be 
at his office, he was seldom older than sixteen years 
when with her! She lay awake, wondering why 
this had not been apparent before, she had regarded 
Tony as a tower of strength, a dynamic, matured 
personality which should leave its mark on the 
world. Now, she felt many years his senior despite 
her twenty-three birthdays. 

But spring fever brought symptoms of youth once 
more. Blair donned a blue silk dress with a silver 
lace sash, curled her hair, selected a cushion and 
went out to become established on the fire escape. 
She pretended the other fire escapes were non-exis¬ 
tent. Neither did she consider the flapping wash in 
the courtyard nor the rattle of ash cans being 
dragged in and out. She was determined to see 
poetry in her surroundings. She had taken a pad 
and pencil besides a copy of her favorite Lamb’s Es¬ 
says. Blair was bent upon being inspired! 

Sometimes, “songs came to her” although she had 


JUDD & JUDD 


29 


little musical training. All morning, there had sug¬ 
gested itself a stirring, sacred melody—The Sword 
Song from Ezekiel, she would call it. If it devel¬ 
oped itself, she would have it harmonized. By the 
time she had written the first bars, she wondered 
how it would seem to create a successful melody, 
have royalty checks float in as frequently as did 
bills. 

“The sword—the sword—” she hummed, lean¬ 
ing against the iron rails. The fire escape was a 
grated balcony overlooking a flower filled patio, the 
telegraph poles were eucalyptus trees, starry blos¬ 
somed, bark-stripped, the pile of cinders became a 
little shrine. 

“The sword—” she still hummed, fairly drinking 
in the sweet, chill air. 

“I’m ashamed for never having called,” inter¬ 
rupted a thin, distinct voice from a neighboring fire 
escape, “I’m so informal. No one ever called on me 
but I wouldn’t want to be the way most people are, 
would you? I’m Mrs. Oliver Sterling—across the 
hall. When I heard you were a bride-” 

Startled from her day dream, Blair glanced up in 
confusion to see a petite blonde person in black 
broadcloth with striking organdie frills. 

“I’ll run in and unlock the front door,” she hur- 



30 JUDD & JUDD 

ried to say, “I was loafing out here—and it is chilly. 
Do come along." 

A moment later, Mrs. Sterling entered Twilldo 
and, with an appraising eye, estimated its contents, 
the calibre of her hostess and lack of a solitaire en¬ 
gagement ring. She was saying in baby doll fashion: 

“Don’t scare me by being formal. I’m the sort 
women misunderstand because their husbands like to 
talk to me. Ollie says I’ll never grow up—what a 
dear little apartment—oh, you have no dining room 
either. Horrid, isn’t it! Did you paint the furni¬ 
ture yourself—so clever. I adore French blue. 
Your husband is a lamb, isn’t he? Have you any 
antiques? I am wild about them. Pine bedsteads? 
Do let me see them—why-ee, they are priceless—you 
ought to have them refinished and get smart lamp 
wicking spreads. We have a mahogany four poster 
but no chance for it in our two by four. You are 
a wonderful housekeeper, too, I’ve watched you 
fly around. I’m a naughty girl,’’ with great pride, 
“I put on my kimono and read my magazines as if 
I had a retinue in the kitchen. I don’t believe in 
wearing yourself out. Ollie calls me his Dresden 
doll, so I say he must hurry to get me a gold lined 
cabinet. If he doesn’t, I’ll des’ be someone’s else 
Dresden doll—I will! You must see Ollie, he is an 


JUDD & JUDD 


31 


amiable old trout. Oh, I forgot—you are booky— 
worse yet, a college graduate! Me is ’fraid! But 
me was engaged ever so many times before me mar¬ 
ried Ollie—so there. Say, don’t think I am entirely 
cuckoo,” she ended naturally. 

During this monologue, she had selected the easi¬ 
est chair and made overtures towards a box of candy. 

Then she rattled on: “I’m prejudiced against col¬ 
lege women—they are so superior and so few marry 
or if they do, they go in for reform work, their hus¬ 
bands included. I’m a butterfly and glad of it. Now 
I don’t mean this applies to you, because I’d never 
have come to see you if I felt the least bit that way. 
Little Muriel would have stayed on her own fire 
escape.” 

“You’re quite misinformed about us,” Blair was 
stimulated at the chance for an argument. “We 
like pretties and have as many affairs as you have. 
True, there are grubs and odd ones but-” 

“Mercy, who is that dreadful looking Hubbell 
woman ? Ollie says she is a lawyer—I should think 
the jury would fade out when she appeared.” 

“Roxy is a wonderful friend and woman,” Blair 
dismissed the question carelessly, “but about college 
women: don’t you see one advantage is that we are 
taught how to play as well as to work? For four 



3* 


JUDD & JUDD 


years or more, we have the opportunity to live with 
and understand, like, dislike, learn to tolerate all 
sorts of personalities which is as important as any 
course we may be taking. More or less, we learn 
how to play as we learn-” 

“You make Muriel’s head ache,” Mrs. Sterling in¬ 
terrupted, “don’t talk theories. I was rude to have 
said a word about it. I’m such a child.” 

Blair was convinced she was anything but a child. 
Muriel had peculiar, oblong, gray eyes, pale, gold 
hair and mere outlines for eyebrows. There was 
the hint of both tyrant and cheat in the set of her 
pouty, over-heavy mouth and the straight, thin nose. 
To have quoted Aunt Agnes, Muriel was “the sort 
over which men make fools of themselves all because 
they can’t seem to realize what a fool she is.” 

“All right, only you can hardly expect me to be 
silent when you make sweeping statements. Let’s 
talk about yourself.” Blair was irritated as well as 
amused. 

“No, dear lady. I’m a mouse thing from the 
country,” Muriel enlightened, “my people lost their 
money before I was born and went to live on a farm. 
Picture me doing the Maud Muller stunt? I 
couldn’t, either. I came here to work in a telephone 
exchange and in less than six months, I was en- 



JUDD & JUDD 


33 


gaged to a rich old man. But his children—oh, boy, 
the riot! I didn’t make a strong play, I knew I’d 
have other chances. He gave me awfully nice 
presents—this pin is one. I had it valued and it is 
worth two hundred. Then I took charge of the 
switchboard at Wooster Brothers and I could have 
fractured Sam Wooster’s home life if I had really 
tried. I had plenty of other friends, too. Then I 
went to the Phoenix Hotel as the dining room 
cashier. You don’t know what an unprotected girl 
has to put up with. My dear, if I could write as I 
talk—well, I don’t know that I’d want to expose 
human nature that much. I was engaged to an 
awfully nice boy, Eddie Blumenthal—his family 
staged a panic. Eddie gave me stunning things, 
too—he was in the clothing business. All this time, 
Ollie was coming to the hotel for lunch. Of course, 
his people are one of the old families, if you want 
to try figuring out what that means. I don’t. It 
doesn’t mean money, dear, let me enlighten you right 
at the post. It means they are snobbish, stingy, un¬ 
reasonable fanatics and I never ask them here. I 
go there when I’m shackled—Thanksgiving or 
Christmas. I’m as good as any Sterling—we were 
Ostranders and related to the kings of Holland, if 
you want to trace us back to when the kings of Hoi- 


34 


JUDD & JUDD 


land were doing day labor on the dykes.” She gave 
an irresponsible giggle. 

Blair was more and more amused. She was con¬ 
scious that Muriel’s rouging created a different effect 
from Polly’s almost charming results. Muriel had 
a dangerous glint in her eyes, alternating with a 
shrewd expression. Blair felt she was “in for it” as 
long as they were neighbors. She wondered what 
Tony would have to say. 

“The Sterlings know your husband’s aunt and 
about his family. That is where I got a line on you. 
The Sterlings act as if I had kidnapped Ollie. I’ve 
almost gotten him to believing that his mother is a 
slave driver as well as a high brow and his sisters 
are without a bright line in their repertoire. Their 
house was furnished during the Ark period. Tell me, 
suffering wife, do you have to stand for Miss Judd?” 

She s a dear,” defended Blair, “we have agreed 
to disagree politely. She is orthodox, I am not; she 
dusts over the tops of doors, I do not; I read Ouspen- 
sky and believe in birth control—she reads Tenny¬ 
son and almost believes in fairies. But this has 

nothing to do with our being fond of each other_ 

and polite,” the scorn in her tone caused Muriel to 
blush far beyond the rouge boundaries. 

‘You must have a wonderful disposition; I have 


JUDD & JUDD 


35 


not. My husband is my husband and I am out for 
my own way. The Sterlings rave at our being in 
debt. Do they think I’m going to play Cinderella 
because I’m afraid of a few bills? I will not be 
shabby, I will have a good time,” she recalled her¬ 
self from adding more opinions and ended, “Ollie is 
just beginning, good old fruit, he sells bonds and 
people with money are so conservative. But we'll 
get on. My, I've overstayed my twenty minutes— 
do come over and bring your Tony, we’ll have a 
party. Do you drive a car? I thought not. Your 
father is grand, isn’t he? I knew him, by sight, at 
the hotel. He is the jolly sort I like. Please set a 
day so you can’t escape. Saturday—at four ? Fine. 
So glad we are friends. I hate formality.” Muriel 
pranced across the hall while Blair opened the win¬ 
dows to release the double strength harem extract 
with which Mrs. Sterling chose to be identified. 

Tony’s comment was characteristic: “Sterling 
comes of family but his people had so much money a 
while ago, they stopped doing everything but spend¬ 
ing it. He chases around in his sedan and sports a 
cutie mustache—I never fancied him. I think he 
has married his match. There are two sorts of wives, 
lovely, the poison ivies and the pussy willows,” 
here the conversation became pleasantly personal. 


CHAPTER IV 


After her Saturday call, Blair decided Muriel 
was lonesome, being taboo among the Sterling set 
and without enough money to create her own jazz 
addicted bohemia. Her ambition was to be social 
leader in a smart set of some larger city and to raise 
toy dogs as a frequently photographed pastime. 
Until Muriel became of the motor gentry, she con¬ 
tented herself with nagging Oliver into making— 
or getting—more money, furnishing her apartment 
with hotel parlor fittings and spending her time read¬ 
ing froth, talking scandal, parading the downtown 
section with the compensation of knowing the men 
looked after her. 

Blair came away resolved to see as little as pos¬ 
sible of the Sterlings. In desperation, she paid two 
dollars to attend a luncheon of the civic club where 
she became indignant at hearing the rights still 
denied women in certain States. On the spur of the 
moment, she pledged five dollars for the campaign, 
suffering for days afterwards at her extravagance. 

36 


JUDD & JUDD 


37 


She was also asked to do a paper on child labor 
conditions in the Michigan beet fields, to be read at 
another luncheon a week later. 

Neglecting cooking and mending, Blair emerged 
to read the paper and received congratulations. But 
she came home to find Tony had taken the afternoon 
off due to a headache. He was much concerned 
whether or not there would be anything he ought to 
eat for dinner. Blair had overplayed the sage in 
the chicken dressing, he complained, he could not 
stand any more highly flavored things. 

“They are going to print my paper in the national 
bulletin,” she announced, preparing to make milk 
toast. 

“That so? Do you know I believe my glasses 
need changing?” 

“Then see about it. There is junket for dessert. 
Half your trouble is too little exercise and over eat¬ 
ing.” 

“I wish that Sterling woman would stop her player 
piano,” Tony rose to slam down the window, “this 
was the worst of an apartment—all huddled together 
like a rabbit hutch. I’ll be glad to leave.” 

“So will I,” Blair agreed. In her haste, she had 
not put on an apron and a spot of flour paste was 
on her waist. “I hate spots on things. I’d rather 


38 


JUDD & JUDD 


ruin the entire dress, it seems wicked to send a thing 
to the cleaners for one spot—and I can’t get it off 
—two dollars and a half gone—tch—tch-” 

“Perhaps I should not have asked for food,” 
grumbled Tony, “but I did not know it was a crime 
to be hungry.” 

“Nor was it a crime to mention the spot,” Blair 
felt out of tune with things finite because she had 
been slightly in tune with things infinite. The 
afternoon had been breathless and absorbing, far 
removed from a kitchen cabinet atmosphere. 
“Florence Knight is home from Mexico—remem¬ 
ber her? She was the class ahead of ours. She gave 
a stirring talk about the inside factions that we 
never hear of, she says that the-” 

“Um. Pardon me, any bicarbonate tablets in the 
medicine case? I can’t find them anywhere.” 

Blair dashed away to return with an empty bot¬ 
tle. “You must not take so many, they eat the 
lining out of your stomach.” 

“So does your cooking,” retorted Tony and was 
sorry instantly. 

Blair finished her supper in hurt silence. Tony 
ate it meekly. As she washed the dishes, he came 
to the door to venture: 

“I was rude, lovely, forgive me. I felt like the 




JUDD & JUDD 


39 


devil. The office was wearing and I had forgotten 
about your meeting—I expected you to be home/’ 

She glanced up. Tony was full six feet and well 
proportioned. His handsome, somewhat Ro¬ 
manesque features and dark hair and eyes lent him 
distinction. His hair rumpled, minus his collar, his 
face flushed and his eyes wistful, he stirred her to 
pity. 

“If you had told me you were coming,” she said 
slowly, “I would have sent the paper to be read. 
Poor Tonibus, he does work hard! Lie down and 
I'll read to you. His wife sha’n’t be a poison ivy, 
shall she?” 


A week later, the Judds were invited to spend the 
evening with the Sterlings—go on a bat, as Muriel 
announced. To Blair's amazement Tony favored 
accepting. 

“I thought you did not like such people,” she pro¬ 
tested, “we ought to stay home and re-paint the 
serving table.” 

“I don’t. But Sterling must have a clientele or he 
could not exist and I like to meet people not in my 
line, get their viewpoint. You can understand. If 
we went this once, it would be a lark—we could 


40 


JUDD & JUDD 


order ourselves accordingly in the future. It doesn’t 
do to be too isolated.” 

Blair made ready. Muriel always acted as 
if intrigued with her environment, save when alone 
with her husband. She was as charming to Tony as 
she knew how. This both amused and flattered him. 
Muriel was always discovering just the man she 
should have married, she usually confided the fact 
shortly after being introduced. Tony was no ex¬ 
ception to her rule and Blair was told to “run away 
and play with my Ollie.” 

There was a subtle Russian quality in Muriel’s 
embroidered gown. Blair felt shabby by contrast 
and she was bored to tears with the polite efforts of 
Oliver Sterling, a weak chinned, well bred vacuum. 

At three in the morning, the Judds faced each 
other in Twilldo and expressed surprise at the “bat” 
and their idiocy in having gone on it. It had con¬ 
sisted of visiting at the Sterlings’ for over an hour, 
punctuated with cocktails which were “the real stuff, 
children,” as Muriel reminded. Then they drove to 
a burlesque house where amateur night was holding 
forth and here they watched with more boredom 
than pity the unwashed trying to make the thespian 
grade. After this came the professional bill and at 
eleven, the quartette wandered into the slums to an 


JUDD & JUDD 


4i 


elaborate Chinese restaurant where they sat at a 
heavily inlaid table and ate fried noodles, listening 
to an electrical piano player grind out “Pack Up 
Your Sins and Go to the Devil. ,, Muriel lit a ciga¬ 
rette and confided that she adored thrills, did anyone 
suppose there could be an opium den concealed in the 
rear of the cafe? She would be charmed to see it, 
yes, she would, she was just that kind of a cut-up. 
She put an affectionate arm about Tony’s neck, 
challenging Blair to interfere. She wheedled Oliver 
into buying hideous dolls dressed as mandarins— 
the pair were five dollars. 

From here, they drove slowly, senselessly along 
streets where windows were shrouded in gloom and 
bizarre lights burned enticingly from mysterious 
doorways—still in search of thrills! After mid¬ 
night, they returned to the Sterling apartment to eat 
an ancient but active cheese and drink home brew 
beer. 

The home brew caused Sterling to become thick 
tongued but confidential, he was going to put Tony 
onto such a good thing, he would clip bond coupons 
the rest of his life. He was doing this because he 
loved Tony Judd—hie—even if he was an ordinary 
looking pup, as he concluded with a falsetto shriek, 
at which Muriel accused gaily: 


42 


JUDD & JUDD 


“Ollie’s spiffed—he is going to tell secrets.” 

The Judds would have gone, but the Sterlings 
saw no reason for breaking up the gathering. Ollie 
rumpled Tony’s hair, insisting, “I love this— 
ordinary—looking—pup.” And Muriel said she 
was so ashamed of her husband, she wanted to jump 
into the cage and change places with the canary, 
at which Oliver thickly objected: 

“Don’t—hie—he’s—moulting.” 

This reminded Muriel of the peppiest story— 
dare she tell it—well, everyone look the other 
way- 

When a forced laugh told her she had fallen 
short of the mark, Oliver came to the rescue by 
finishing the last of the tnt beer and falling into 
noisy slumber. This permitted the Judds to say 
goodnight, with Muriel following them to their door 
to urge: 

“Don’t be shocked, it is only the Sterlings! When 
you ask us in, we will eat peppermints and talk 
about the crops. We only cut up on our own home 
diamonds—I’ll not bother to move Ollie, when he 
falls on the floor that will wake him up and he can 
get off to bed. He’s a treat, isn’t he? He doesn’t 
do this oftener than twice a month!” 

Tony and Blair wondered which one would voice 



JUDD & JUDD 43 

the more robust indictment. Blair took the initia¬ 
tive. 

“Of all eternal fools,” she said bluntly, “we lead! 
Just four hours of sleep ahead for us,” winding the 
alarm clock relentlessly. 

Tony, who had partaken liberally of the home 
brew, was both bright and argumentive. 

“I wouldn't say quite that—I consider it all ex¬ 
perience. ... I don’t think Sterling will sell many 
bonds tomorrow-” 

A muffled thud came to them through the parti¬ 
tion. Blair laughed. 

“That is the hard working Mr. Sterling falling on 
the floor.” 

“You ought to be more of a cosmopolitan,” Tony 
insisted, sitting up in bed. “You are no school girl 
—besides, I was with you! Bully fried noodles, 
weren’t they? And what a hat Muriel wore—we 
need never go again but I can’t say I regard it 
as-” 

“Stop,” ordered Blair, “if you could see yourself 
in the mirror, you would realize the accuracy of 
Oliver’s description.” 



CHAPTER V 


The bat resulted in a brief estrangement between 
Tony and Blair. The alarm clock failing to arouse 
Tony at seven, despite the repeater call, Blair 
dressed, prepared and ate breakfast and was wash¬ 
ing the dishes before Tony tumbled out of bed and 
grunted some interrogation as to the time. 

It was nine o’clock. He would be very late even if 
he hurried. He felt that Blair might have awakened 
him—oh, alarm clock be damned—she might have 
shaken him. Anyway, he had done nothing to ex¬ 
claim about, the Sterlings were not his friends, 
Blair had accepted the invitation. She was making 
a mountain out of a mole hill—where was a clean 
shirt? Oh, this one with every button hole torn— 
why not examine things when they came home? 
No time to begin to thread a needle now—so, he had 
no other clean shirt—she had forgotten to send the 
bundle yesterday—splendid! He would wear 

slightly soiled linen which he despised. Would she 
please, kindly and for cat’s sake STOP talking 
44 


JUDD & JUDD 


45 


about the Sterlings, he was weary of their very 
name—what punk stuff to drink, too—and that 
cheese! Everyone knew Chinese messes spelt ruin 
to any alimentary canal—no, he was not hungry, a 
cup of coffee and a few kind words would be more 
to the point. So she had eaten her breakfast— 
wasn’t she the punctual little party? 

At ten, Tony left for the office, having omitted 
his usual: “Goodbye, lovely, don’t do anything rash 
until you see me.” 

At ten five, Blair was in tears. She wondered if 
her mother had taken to her invalid’s sofa in un¬ 
suspected defeat at ever making her father true up 
to ideals? She told herself that Tony was a self in¬ 
dulgent, selfish person, she wished she had Muriel’s 
viewpoint which permitted a husband to fall from 
his chair as the only means of helping him to bed. 
It was not well to sacrifice too much for a man’s 
welfare! 

Blair had a pride in not confiding the incident to 
anyone. Judd and wife were not prone to broad¬ 
cast differences. She felt the lack of sleep as she 
snailed about her work. Dusting the books, it oc¬ 
curred to her how little she had read, or thought, 
since her marriage. Tony had the idea she was a 
dear little thing, content with kisses and fifteen dol- 


46 


JUDD & JUDD 


lars a month allowance. He had lost sight of her 
being a co-partner, able to work with and for him. 
He was impatient when reminded of the fact, she 
was made to feel such statements were a trifle stale. 

She wondered what Muriel was doing, although 
resolved to have no more to do with her. Still, they 
were forced to co-operate in using the clothes line 
and other domestic details. This apartment seemed 
a burlesque on privacy and home life. Presently, 
she saw the Sterlings, well dressed and serene, drive 
off with evidently no thought of last night’s pro¬ 
gramme. Every night was party night, as Muriel 
had announced. 

Blair put on her wraps and sought out Roxy. 
She would go about with her for the day, lose sight 
of petty injury in impersonal wrongs. Much as she 
disapproved of Roxy’s peevishness during tonsillitis, 
Blair found advantages in sharing Roxy’s interests. 
Not only was Roxy unique, but she was courageous 
and sincere. Hers was an inconsistent, but altruistic 
warrior spirit which carried her into endless and 
interesting battles. 

This day, Blair found her setting out for a state 
institution where an inmate’s family protested the 
treatment. Roxy was to champion the case although 
she knew the probable antagonism and minute finan- 


JUDD & JUDD 


47 


cial returns. She tucked Blair under her arm and 
marched her out to the modest coupe. Roxy recited 
the facts as she steered the wheel, Blair forgetting 
her own worries. 

As they entered the institution, Blair felt a mere 
molecule—so was Tony. The Judds were an un¬ 
important couple as she temporarily accepted Roxy's 
gauge. A great humanitarian impulse to liberate 
and uplift downtrodden and diseased mankind—and 
escape such drudgery as emptying the ice box pan 
and cleaning the spinach—swept over Mrs. Anthony 
Judd! 

With pride, she listened to Roxy’s verbal battle 
and the superintendent’s eager efforts at reconcilia¬ 
tion. Roxy was not to be swerved from her path. 
Conditions must be righted, restitution made. Pub¬ 
licity was nothing she feared, no institution could af¬ 
ford investigation without shaking the people’s con¬ 
fidence. Glowering with rage, the superintendent 
writhed under Roxy’s challenge—another date was 
set for a compromise meeting. A turn of her trim, 
tailored shoulder and Roxy escorted Blair out of the 
place where human remnants chattered and shrieked. 
Outside, Roxy purposely turned the subject to light¬ 
weight homespuns. 

“I don’t expect you to enthuse, chiffon frill,” she 


48 


JUDD & JUDD 


said indulgently, “but I’m keen for homespuns and 
if I go as delegate to the Switzerland conference, I 
cannot be bothered with a trunk. A good looking 
suit with swank waists and the trick is done.” 

“Really go abroad—how splendid!” 

“Wouldn’t it be—hi, boy, keep to your own side,” 
as she averted a collision. “Then they say men are 
the better drivers. When you have a car, learn to 
drive yourself, Blair. You’d have a lot of fun 
from a little bus; one tap of the starter and you’re 
removed from the crochet and baking powder 
propaganda.” 

“You remind me of a breeze blowing away cob¬ 
webs,” said Blair, “tell me more things I ought to 
do.” 

This pleased Roxy. By the time they lunched at the 
“Cock and Kettle,” done an hour at juvenile court, 
a look-in at the club, an interview with the vendor 
of homespuns and a cigarette in Roxy’s office, Blair 
was willing to be set down at the Gramatan with the 
promise this programme be repeated. 

“You need it,” Roxy urged, “far be it from me 
to come between man and wife—but your brain is 
tarnishing. You spend your days cooking for Tony 
and your evenings watching him devour your results. 
I know the home idea is rampant in our puny civili- 


JUDD & JUDD 


49 


zation—I’m not out to argue against it—not while 
the gas is chugging away at twenty-seven per—but 
remember, Blair, you knew a lot of people at college 
but you are a comparative stranger here. Don’t let 
Tony absorb you—the trouble is that women wait 
until it is too late to make a stand for freedom. 
Then it is either a burlesque or a tragedy. We want 
’em young—just like the bald head row!” 

Blair toiled upstairs, the elevator not running, to 
find a card from a classmate who was passing 
through town, two bills, an ad for a washing 
machine. Unwillingly she cooked a simple dinner. 
She felt Tony owed her an apology. If a man was 
impolite because he did not hear his alarm clock, 
well—was he a full grown man? Blair’s day had 
furnished rebellious thoughts, there was so much 
without the walls of Twilldo—so very much— 
and Tony saw and mingled with that “much” 
daily. 

She had prepared a cutting, forceful speech for 
Tony’s homecoming. But it was speedily forgotten 
when she was surprised by a contrite young husband 
who handed her a corsage of rosebuds—the sort he 
presented when they were engaged. 

“I was beastly,” he began, disarming her at once. 
“Everything went wrong today—I started wrong 


50 JUDD & JUDD 

when I did not kiss you goodbye. No use, Blair, you 
are my mascot.” 

She came into his arms. “We can avoid the 
Sterlings from now on—I’ll be so cheerful when to¬ 
morrow’s alarm sounds, you’ll think I’ve had the 
Pollyanna serum. There is no reason why we should 
allow trifles to spoil our joy.” 

Blair had forgotten her speech—and Roxy’s ad¬ 
vice. The day’s events seemed coldly impersonal, 
rather sordid. It was far more wonderful to serve 
her dinner and witness Tony’s appreciation of it, 
hear him applaud himself in handling the day’s 
situations, lie on the davenport while he read poetry 
to her until she forgot dish washing and the leak 
in the laundry tubs. She looked at Tony’s roses, the 
glow of the lamp lent the furnishings of the room 
an artistic richness. Tony seemed more handsome 
and powerful than ever—how well he read sonnets. 
Blair pitied Roxy who was forced to be interested 
in institutions. 

Both Tony and Blair felt somewhat exalted— 
and magnanimous—as the sequel to this little mid¬ 
channel ! 


CHAPTER VI 


It was almost May before Blair lunched with 
Roxy again—then it was at a business women’s 
weekly affair. Seated next to Roxy, Blair ate her 
mutton chop, shoe string potatoes and canned peas 
while listening to a wild haired orator describe how 
soon civilization was to be a thing of the past. 
During the dessert of eclairs and coffee, someone 
sang love lyrics. Everyone voted it a remarkable 
meeting. Roxy persuaded Blair to stay for the get- 
together half hour. There were interesting women 
to meet. There were insurance agents, hair dressers, 
stenographers, department store buyers, school 
teachers, one lady undertaker who was violently 
proud of the fact. Unrestrainedly, they told what 
they did and how they came to do it—sometimes, 
how they got away with it. They were dressed in 
every degree of style from Roxy’s uniform to a can¬ 
didate for the Follies. Many were divorced or bona- 
fide widows, there seemed to be an abundance of 
names like “Mrs. Mirabelle Downing Rasmussen” 


5i 


52 


JUDD & JUDD 


or “Mrs. Juanita Conover-Fitzhughes.” Yet they 
were sure not only of themselves but their futures, 
Blair decided. By contrast, she seemed but a blush¬ 
ing bride. They were insistent that Blair join. 

“I’m not a business person,” she warned. 

“Time ahead for that,” said Mrs. Isabelle Col- 
vocoresses Peck, pocketing the initial dollar. Mrs. 
Peck was a strikingly blonde yet motherly faced 
woman with a worn, rouged face. She was ex¬ 
pensively dressed but her hands betrayed the hall¬ 
marks of erstwhile manual labor. Blair could not 
estimate her until Roxy explained she had been mar¬ 
ried twice, both husbands a total loss, and was now 
making good as a character analyst. 

Blair planned to do errands yet reach Twilldo in 
time to make Tony’s favorite deep dish apple pie. 
She was pleased with the luncheon, she would have 
liked to have learned the history of every woman 
present. Roxy could have told her, only Roxy was 
due at the district attorney’s office, there was a thrill¬ 
ing case of grand larceny on hand. 

She left Blair wafting into a department store, 
undecided whether to afford a new dress or freshen 
her gray charmeuse by means of lace. 

“Ah, cherie, cornered at last,” announced Muriel 
Sterling, intercepting her at the lace counter, “I’ve 


JUDD & JUDD 


53 


waited my chance. You are coming up to the Pink 
Fountain Room for tea—I want to apologize. 
Only this morning, Ollie said, ‘The Judds must have 
passed us up as bad actors—I’m sorry we are in 
wrong.’ Really, dear, it was accidental—at least 
let me explain. Ollie likes you so much, says you’d 
be an excellent influence for me,” with a knowing 
wink. 

Weakly, Blair was led to the tea room to be told 
in insincere superlatives how much her neighbors 
thought of her straightforward, cultured little self! 
All the time she was speaking, Blair was realizing 
how well dressed Muriel was—her henna colored 
frock with its cape and hat to match, a cape dotted 
with expensive mink tails. Yet for all this adorn¬ 
ment, she seemed a shabby cheat. 

In a breath with apologizing for the party, Muriel 
confided she had bought a dazzling three piece cos¬ 
tume and charged it to Ollie’s mother, who could not 
repudiate her daughter-in-law, proud old thing. Oh, 
she had done it before—not too often—but every 
now and then. She had ordered a marvellous hat 
to be sent on approval, she would return it tomorrow 
having worn it that evening to a theater party. She 
wanted her hostess to feel the Sterlings paid an in¬ 
come tax resembling the German war debt. Oh— 


54 


JUDD & JUDD 


did Mrs. Judd think this wrong? Everyone did it 
—who could be blamed for borrowing pretties? 
She often had rugs and lamps sent up when she 
was going to entertain. As for their baby-grand 
player—she did not dare ask the repair man to come 
near lest he take it away, the first payment had been 
all they felt able to manage to date—one must live! 
Mercy, ‘dis chile’ must be careful—if ever she bor¬ 
rowed an egg from Mrs. Judd, she would bring 
it right back if she had to pawn her wedding ring. 

Blair was led down to a taxi, following this con¬ 
fessional, and was obliged to invite the Sterlings for 
an evening the following week. (She resolved to 
give a discourse on the fourth dimension as the chief 
pastime.) 

“Goodbye, honey,” Muriel sang out, as they parted 
at their respective doors. “Oh—did you notice the 
man in front of the Roanoke Hotel—the one in the 
tan coat and green fedora—rather distinguished and 
dissipated looking?” 

“I don’t recall him,” Blair was impatient to be 
away. 

“Probably not—it was Harty Dukes, a sporting 
editor—I could have married him, too.” 

It was too late to cook anything resembling a 
dinner. Blair was obliged to resort to a can opener 


JUDD & JUDD 55 

for which she was punished when Tony came to the 
table. 

“I meant to have a real meal,” Blair explained, 
“but after the luncheon, I met Muriel—” she recited 
the afternoon programme, while Tony toyed with 
sardines. 

“I see—yet I’m expected to come home and look 
happy over this sort of a dinner,” he said impatient¬ 
ly. “I’m starved, too, I went without my lunch to 
see an important customer and land his order. 
Moreover, I’m due for a raise in salary—only thirty 
more a month but it is not a discouraging symptom. 
I came home primed with the glad tidings and find 
you have wasted your day with that radical 
Roxy and then the semi-demi neighbor. When I 
lived at home, my aunt never once—” 

“I am not interested in when you lived at home.” 
Blair was too tired to remain dignified, “The callo- 
ries you need are in this same despised dinner, I can 
prove it. Besides, there is your aunt’s currant jelly. 
That will remind you of when you lived at home. 
Really, I despise a glutton,” in sudden hysteria, 
Blair left the table. 

Tony made a systematic cleanup of the food. 
Then he cleared the table, whistling in an irritating, 
cheery monotone. Later, Blair heard the kitchen 


56 


JUDD & JUDD 


water running, she knew he was washing the dishes. 
She sprang up in self-surrender. 

“I was wrong to be late—but it was not a world 
disaster,” she said, coming into the kitchen. “Please 
stop piling kettles on top of glassware—let me do it 
—Fd much rather.” 

Tony did not yield. “I can go on short rations 
when it is necessary,” he said, “but I did not see 
why it was this particular time. We both made 
poor connections—I should have had lunch, you 
should have left things cooked for dinner. But 
don’t bother about it again.” 

This unfamiliar attitude confused Blair. She 
asked absent mindedly, “Why did you call Muriel 
the semi-demi ?” 

“Because she has the tastes and habits of a demi- 
mondaine but was wise enough to marry before ex¬ 
pressing them freely. There are many like her 
these days, uneducated, baby doll tyrants who think 
tears and dimples win any cause. Muriel dominates 
that weak-willed, well-bred husband of hers, she’ll 
drive him off the face of the earth in her desire for 
more money. I found out about the Sterlings—they 
have a chattel mortgage on their furniture. But 
that does not bother Mrs. Sterling. The only thing 
that would keenly distress her would be to wake up 


JUDD & JUDD 


57 


and find a six weeks’ growth of eyebrow on her 
fair face. And my wife took tea—” 

“I could not help it,” Blair made a terrific soap 
suds as indicative of her mental turmoil, “she asked 
for an opportunity to apologize. I could not refuse 
any more than you would think of telling her she is 
a semi-demi. Come, Tony, forgive me the lapse 
of a meal—agree that Muriel is not worth serious 
analysis.” 

There was no further reconciliation. Both were 
polite but monosyllabic and consumed with the 
sudden desire to write letters. 

The next morning, after Tony left, Blair planned 
her day not only to satisfy her husband but to prove 
a new, scornful theory. She spent the morning 
baking the deep dish pie and the afternoon cooking 
an elaborate dinner. She dressed herself in a crisp 
pink voile and kept the dinner warm in double boil¬ 
ers. She was at leisure when Tony came in, un¬ 
decided how to conduct his manly, masterful self. 

The sight of Blair so tender of expression, so 
attractive in her pink frock—to say nothing of the 
heavenly odors proceeding from the kitchenette, 
decided him at once. 

“Have you missed me as much as I miss you, 
lovely?” he asked. 


58 


JUDD & JUDD 


She was amused—such a child to be influenced by 
a roast lamb dinner and a deep dish pie dessert! 
How little he knew, as he paid her compliments and 
insisted she take ten of his additional salary each 
month, using it solely for her own purposes, that 
Blair’s eyes were straying from Tony’s face, slightly 
greasy at the corners of his mouth, to his desk upon 
which reposed her typewriter—and she was think¬ 
ing of her theory: no man ever leaves a really com¬ 
petent cook! 


CHAPTER VII 


By July, Blair abandoned theories and took to 
wondering. Her father’s welcome yet revealing 
visit started this transition. He came for a six 
weeks’ stay, beginning in June, stopping at a hotel 
nearby and eating at Twilldo. Having become ad¬ 
dicted to Blair’s cooking, he patted her cheeks and 
gave her a hundred dollars but he devoted himself 
to Tony! These two went forth to club smokers, 
tennis matches, boxing shows, a week’s fishing trip 
where Blair would have been persona non grata as 
she was frankly informed. 

That same week, Blair canned strawberries under 
pressure on the part of Aunt Agnes. Her fingers 
stained, her brain tarnished, Blair realized it was one 
thing to be abreast in the commercial world with the 
sustaining knowledge that a loyal wife waited home 
to reward effort and comfort defeat, feeding and 
caring for you meantime, a wife apparently content 
with her husband’s infantile demand for protection 
and affection. But it was quite another to be left 
59 


6o 


JUDD & JUDD 


with an empty larder and a fragile pocket book to 
solve the situation when one’s mind had been trained 
to juggle with impersonal problems. To argue with 
tradespeople and day help, and have the four walls 
of the “little nest” take on the narrowing, unfair 
aspect of a prison—this was not what Blair had 
expected or deserved. 

True, for two rather nice tempered persons, 
housework in a small apartment is no bugaboo but 
when a girl has been an embryo advertising “shark” 
according to her classmates, and spent her summers 
wearing good-looking sports clothes, housekeeping 
becomes a nightmare. The trouble, as Blair dis¬ 
covered, was lack of mental fresh air. Cloying 
romance, as she petulantly called it, was insufficient 
ventilation. 

Following the fishing trip were more canning 
orgies. Tony thought this was a wonderful oppor¬ 
tunity for Blair to learn such arts. He seemed to 
take for granted the monotonous and additional 
labor. To Blair it was overtime, unpaid-for work 
which curtailed her pleasure and ruined her hands. 
Well she knew who would eat up most of the results! 

“Fine to have an old-fashioned cook teach you,” 
her father had added. 

His present of a hundred dollars, given after 


JUDD & JUDD 


61 


being shown rows of parafine topped glasses and 
pots, Blair resolved to use for outside interests. 
Clothes were not essential. Yet how could she enjoy 
or pursue outside interests if she was duty bound 
to continue to crown glasses and pots with parafine ? 
She wondered if she betrayed irritation to Aunt 
Agnes who was delighted at Blair’s aptness. Blair 
had been an intelligent pupil because, as yet, she had 
no other course tO' pursue. As long as she was 
mentally groping, uncertain of her ground, she 
might as well put her time to good use. When Tony 
apologized for their not taking a vacation—although 
he went up the lakes on business and with his father- 
in-law for a week’s fishing—Blair made no protest. 
They had saved money by foregoing a trip, she was 
hoping to do personal things this winter, Tony must 
be agreeable when she did so. Her silence was not 
acquiescence. 

Muriel had gone to the north shore with her hus¬ 
band’s people. They had not wanted her, she ad¬ 
mitted frankly, but she had put it up to them on 
the grounds of Ollie’s health and the opportunity 
to meet worth-while, bond buying people. Besides, 
she rented her apartment to some teachers in the 
summer school and asked Blair to care for her noisy 
parakeets. The relationship between the Sterlings 


62 


JUDD & JUDD 


and the Judds had been one of polite tolerance on 
both sides. The Sterling's spent an evening at 
Twilldo during which Blair served a rarebit and 
coffee and they played bridge, but the Judds never 
found it convenient to re-visit the Sterlings. Tony 
lunched with Oliver occasionally, after which he 
would confide that “Oliver is a gentleman but utterly 
vamped for all time.” 

When the social column announced that Mr. and 
Mrs. Oliver Sterling of the Gramatan were leaving 
to occupy Castle Craneycrow in company with Mrs. 
de Forest Sterling and daughters—Blair gave vent 
to a womanly attack upon the semi-demi. She was 
determined to win a tribute from someone, a thin 
disguise for the mental expression she craved. 
Therefore, she dilated upon the beauty of devoting 
one’s self to a home, without thought of personal 
glory, versus the way Muriel had chosen. When 
Blair finished, all that remained intact was Muriel’s 
cleverness at cutting silhouettes. 

She received glowing endorsements for this 
tirade from Aunt Agnes, her father and Tony! 
For twenty-four hours, she anesthetized herself by 
repeating them. She was halfway convinced she 
would not miss Roxy, who had sailed for Switzer¬ 
land, or Polly Arnold, motoring through the west. 


JUDD & JUDD 


63 


or mind in the least when she did string beans, com 
and tomatoes while Tony went to the advertising 
convention in Boston! Blair was doing her duty— 
upon such unflinching, industrious women as herself 
rested the nation’s sanity. 

But the heat sapped her strength, long hours over 
the stove and paring board, the endless drivel of 
petty details, Tony’s absence, her father’s attitude 
of: “Well, you decided wisely, after all—you chose a 
fine husband and have settled down” both disap¬ 
pointed and alarmed her. Even Tony prided him¬ 
self he was “aces up with my wife’s dad.” Tony 
boasted of Blair’s cooking these days, asked com¬ 
pany for dinner without warning her. Somehow 
the hundred dollar check and the additional monthly 
allowance spent themselves for a cold pack preserv¬ 
ing outfit, a fireless cooker, an electrical sewing 
machine! 

September found Blair crestfallen—without a 
wave in her bright, brown hair. She was wonder¬ 
ing as to her winter clothes, dreading Polly’s and 
Roxy’s return, wishing her father would start on 
his trip, eager for the first meeting of the Garret 
Club. Most of all, she regretted her insincere vitu¬ 
peration of Muriel Sterling, not because it was in¬ 
accurate, but because it was a cowardly way to have 


6 4 


JUDD & JUDD 


attained approbation. She was acting like a pussy 
willow when all the time she was discovering that 
she preferred to be a poison ivy! 

When there was a blue-gray haze in the wine 
flavored air, Tony had to have a good looking over¬ 
coat, heavy shoes, woolens and gloves. Blair could 
manage nicely with what she had. They dipped into 
their bank account to the extent of outfitting him 
with the result that Tony said solemnly he could 
never be good enough for such a wonderful wife as 
Blair. 

This time, Blair added, “Probably not.” 

Little Tony suspected, as he stood before her in 
his new clothes, that Blair indulged in a vision all 
her own. Instead of the well groomed, alert Tony, 
she saw herself in a trim, business tailleur, physically 
rested, mentally fit, following Tony out of the door 
to her own absorbing, impersonal business. 

Although the ecstasy of this vision dulled to real¬ 
ity, Blair found herself asking, “And why not?” 
Only to answer a vague, dutiful, “Because.” But 
the conflict had begun. 


CHAPTER VIII 

It was Roxy, resplendent in London tweeds, who 
dragged Blair into active club work, beginning with 
the consumers’ league. Roxy’s disapproval of 
Blair’s mental slump, added to her offering of 
French gloves, roused Blair to action. She resented 
Roxy’s seeing her on the down far less than she 
would Polly or Muriel. The latter was stopping in 
New York before returning to “my cocoon” she had 
written. 

Roxy also persuaded Blair to forego doing tardy 
quinces and act as volunteer investigator for the 
humane society. “That will start you off on some¬ 
one’s else wrongs,” she said frankly, “I had no idea 
you would be in town all summer—stove-scorched 
little wife. Did friend husband enjoy the fishing?” 

Blair defended Tony’s trips, protesting that she 
preferred remaining home. “Nothing is ever 
wasted,” she said weakly, “I’ve learned some useful 
things.” 


65 


66 


JUDD & JUDD 


She was driving with Roxy in the park, sniffing 
the crisp air scented with leaf bonfires. Reflecting 
Roxy’s viewpoint, she became animated when she 
reported to Tony what Roxy had said. 

“So she is trying to get you into reform muck,” 
Tony answered carelessly, “Watch your step, lady 
fair. I thought you were too busy to repay calls let 
alone go investigating.” 

“Oh, that sort of social thing—I haven’t time. 
When I finish the housework I—do you ever think 
of my mind?” she demanded. 

She was so sincere that Tony refrained from being 
humorous. “I think how lovely you are—a dozen 
times a day.” 

“No, not that. Do you ever realize we have been 
married months and I have merely drudged, not 
knowing what you do at the office, that you no longer 
consult me? Yet I could be your substitute and do 
your work as well as you do it yourself—but you 
could not do mine,” she folded her arms triumphant¬ 
ly- 

“Granted! Want to trade?” he was irritated in 
spite of himself. Gradually, Tony had come to re¬ 
gard Blair’s college life as one of her adorable 
whims, he no longer boasted of it—he preferred to 
dilate on the skill of her cooking. 


JUDD & JUDD 


67 


“No, I would not. I have never thought of giving 
up the house for any regular position, although it 
would be better pay and shorter hours,” she could 
not help adding. “When we married, I was ready 
and eager to be the home-maker. I am perfectly 
content as far as that goes-” 

“Only it does not go as far as you wish?” Tony 
was on the defensive. “Be patient, wait until I’ve 
enough salary to give you an electric cab that can 
run Roxy’s flivver off the highway and plenty of 
maids and a-” 

“I don’t want things any more than I do an inde¬ 
pendent position—at least not now,” she corrected. 
“I feel so underestimated—and overloved! There! 
I don’t share your brain, Tony—only your heart. 
Perhaps I’m tired,” an annoying tear dripped off her 
cheek. 

Tony started in alarm. “It is the fool stuff Roxy 
spouts. Always contrary to every normal law and 
tradition, I suppose she wants you to work in a box 
factory, to know your sisters’ sordidness firsthand 
and catch small-pox as a reward. Don’t mix with 
her set, please—stay my own precious wife,” he put 
his arms about her in protecting fashion. 

Blair leaned her head on his shoulder in shamed 
contentment. “I am glad to be,” she said incon- 



68 


JUDD & JUDD 


sistently, “perhaps your precious wife is wishing for 
the moon—and blaming you because she does not 
seem able to get it.” 

Tony was relieved! He was particularly “ducky” 
for the next fortnight, his attentions soothed Blair. 
He brought her flowers and novels and insisted she 
come to his club for dinner. In November, they 
visited their alma mater, a week end of hilarious 
sport, that delightful on-looking with the superior 
feeling of having once been the looked-upon. Blair 
felt dauntless when she returned. She experienced 
the same thrill of pride as when they returned from 
their honeymoon. Until Christmas, she was con¬ 
vinced life was too perfect to hint of readjustments. 
Aunt Agnes was amazed at her housewifely interest, 
her father offered to pay the difference in rent if 
they would lease a larger apartment so he might stay 
with them when in town. They were considering 
this when Tony appeared to triumphantly announce 
that his salary, starting January first, was to be three 
hundred and ten a month! No more apartments for 
the Judds. They would find a suburban home. 

The Sterlings were on Blair’s nerves. Since their 
return, Muriel had forced Blair into being a con¬ 
fidant. She had the habit of running in unexpec¬ 
tedly to consult or borrow, cry with vexation over 


JUDD & JUDD 


69 


some crossed wish, laugh unpleasantly at winning 
her way at someone else’s expense. Blair never in¬ 
troduced Muriel to her friends nor went out with her 
if she could avoid it—but in some unfair fashion, 
she had come to feel responsible for the semi-demi! 

Besides, Blair was eager to be further away from 
Aunt Agnes. Although fond of her, she resented 
the constant interference. To have someone invade 
her kitchen to re-scald preserves, re-season soup, 
even regulate one’s bureau drawers between times 
was not congenial. If Blair was in her own house, 
what a solid, protecting place that noun suggested, 
Aunt Agnes might hesitate before invading. Blair 
longed for a garden; they had outgrown Twilldo. 
Their possessions had increased—a habit possessions 
have—and when they had five for dinner, the little 
room groaned with it’s inability to expand. 

Other changes were happening. Roxy had been 
appointed to a position in the district attorney’s of¬ 
fice, Polly had her engagement ring, the Sterlings 
announced that bonds were selling well and they 
had rented an expensive apartment on the avenue. 
There was a cafe at this new apartment house, 
Muriel explained, and here they would eat unless 
Oliver provided a maid. There was but one way to 
manage a husband, she hoped Blair would discover 


the system before too long—just go right ahead and 
manage him. 

Christmas caused Blair to recall the advice. She 
had given Tony a fitted bag and made him a loung¬ 
ing robe, copied after an expensive model. Her 
father, happening into town, had accepted Aunt 
Agnes’s invitation to dinner. 

Christmas morning, Roxy telephoned to ask if 
Blair would give evidence against the inhumane per¬ 
son who left a half grown cat to starve to death 
in the cellar and who insisted he was innocent until 
someone reminded him that he had done the same 
thing the previous summer—only the cat was rescued 
by means of a broken window. He then explained 
that he had left the kitten in the house—with a tub of 
water in case of thirst—because he wished his place 
rid of rats and if the kitten had been fed, it would 
have been indifferent as to catching them! 

Blair, who had reported the case, had been pro¬ 
perly indignant. She enjoyed Tony’s denouncement 
of a man who could be such a brute. But when it 
involved going into court to prosecute this culprit, 
who happened to be a prosperous, east-side merchant 
—that was another matter. Tony felt it quite Roxy- 
esque to interrupt a holiday with her “damned non- 


JUDD & JUDD 


7 1 


“Couldn’t she have waited?” he said. “If she 
does not consider Christmas as anything but an 
emotional feast, she might realize others do.” 

“She had to telephone because she is leaving town 
on a ten o’clock train,” Blair defended, “she is going 
to a sister who is ill. The case comes on the January 
calendar and she had to know where I stood—of 
course I said yes. You were indignant enough when 
I told you about it.” 

“Tell her no, if you value my wishes,” Tony 
demanded, “and stop investigating. We don’t want 
this man’s enmity—now that you think of it, he is 
an old-time foreigner and probably did not realize 
that it was cruel. Is a half grown cat sufficient cause 
to embroil a community? It is better dead.” 

“True. But the deliberate unkindness is what we 
want to stop and-” 

“I’m not the judge,” he cut in, “don’t argue with 
me. Please believe I am right. Ask your father if 
you want a higher authority. He is kindness itself 
to an animal but he would never approve your going 
into court. The cat is dead, the man has been 
frightened and won’t do it again. He is probably 
anti-cat for the rest of his reincarnations.” 

“He does not blanket his horses,” Blair added in¬ 
dignantly. “I shall introduce that, too.” 


72 


JUDD & JUDD 


Tony drew a package from his pocket. ‘‘Wear 
this and forget the breathless jurymen. Merry 
Christmas, lovely, it is almost a year, isn’t it?” 

The box contained an enamelled bracelet set with 
brilliants, an article of jewelry Blair never wore. 
Her wrist watch, her mother’s sapphire ring, her 
wedding ring were sufficient. Some day, she wanted 
a string of pearls. This must have cost a great 
deal of money—and she needed a dress hat 
and a vacuum cleaner, particularly the vacuum 
cleaner! 

Another time and Blair would have concealed any 
vestige of dissatisfaction. But the arrogant com¬ 
mand of, “Woman, stay within the gates. I love 
you but you must not gainsay me,” the unsuitability 
and extravagance of Tony’s gift which told her he 
neither understood nor gauged her abilities, caused 
her to lay it aside with a brief : 

“Thank you. Aren’t you afraid it will call atten¬ 
tion to my red wrists? Scouring powder and 
ammonia are not exactly soothing.” 

Tony stood up and pushed his chair from the 
table, they were having a late, holiday breakfast. 

“Sorry you are displeased.” He assumed a busi¬ 
nesslike brevity. “Your wrists seem very lovely to 
me . . . guess it is going to snow.” 


JUDD & JUDD 73 

“That will make it seem like Christmas,” Blair 
cleared the table. 

"I’ll take a turn outside—you can change the 
bracelet if you wish,” he added, buttoning his coat, 
“perhaps you’d like to start a monument to 
the starved feline you seem bent on immortalizing.” 

“How unfair,” Blair set down a teacup with an 
abrupt clatter, “if you were irritated at the office, 
you would remain serene—you would not betray 
yourself to an office boy. But to your wife—on 
Christmas—you are as-” 

“Excitable and petty as you are,” the church 
chimes rang discordantly on the ears of Judd and 
wife, “had I acted that way about your presents, 
you would have been flecked on the raw, too. To 
be frank, I’m not keen for a fitted bag. And what¬ 
ever pattern you copied that robe from, it is shy 
about six inches of sleeve.” 

“You are childish,” Blair accused. Both of them 
looked at the unwanted bracelet which sparkled 
maliciously from within its jeweller’s box. 

“Do you know why I bought you that?” Tony 
asked, “or do you care to know why?” 

“I do,” Blair conceded slowly. 

“I bought it because I thought of you as different 
from every other girl in the world and the bracelet 



74 


JUDD & JUDD 


was different from everything else you had. I 
wanted you to know that I think of you as my dream 
girl as well as my housekeeper. ,, 

He waited for an apology. Then he ended im¬ 
pulsively : “I see you don’t believe it—but because I 
do think of you as different, I can’t bear to have 
you mixing with Roxy’s lawless element. Perhaps 
you think I’ve been lack lustre at times, in contrast 
to our courtship days, but you are wrong. My aim 
is to make you happy, give you the best financial 
and social standing I can. But, gosh almighty, I 
can’t crack a safe and get away with it.” 

“Have I suggested you buy a kit of burglar’s 
tools?” Blair’s unruly tongue demanded. 

“Be reasonable—believe that I am getting on as 
fast as it would be wise for me to get on. I couldn’t 
stand too much success any more than I deserve a 
landslide. I am happy if only you are happy. I 
aim to go share and share. I take more of an al¬ 
lowance than you do only because I have to have it 
for business. If it were not for you—I’d have cut 
loose long ago and stepped wide and handsome, too. 
But what’s the use trying to explain-” 

Blair did not seem inclined to answer. He looked 
back in a last appeal. “I ask you not to go on with 
this humane court case, it will not accomplish a 


JUDD & JUDD 


7 5 


permanent reform. It will only weary and disgust 
you. If I have made an unfortunate selection for a 
present, we will change it. Come halfway, won’t 
you? Give me a few years in which to make good 
—see how I prove up. You can chuck me then, if 
you like.” Tony had a sufficient love of the dra¬ 
matic, excellent in his work, to make a timely exit, 
banging the door as a final punctuation mark. 

Blair, also endowed with a sufficient love of the 
dramatic to be somewhat uncertain, slipped on the 
bracelet and christened it with penitent tears. She 
had been unfair! Hardworking, tender Tony—she 
should have understood. To have found fault with 
his present! Reluctantly, she removed it and set 
about to wash the dishes. She felt contrite because 
Tony had not eaten his full quota of cakes and 
sausage! There was no dinner to be cooked, which 
allowed her time for a careful toilette, a zealous 
powdering of her wrists before adjusting the brace¬ 
let and an eager watching at the window for the 
return of the downtrodden hero. All the improbable 
catastrophes which might overtake Tony suggested 
themselves as she watched heavy snow flakes 
form permanent ridges on the curbs. She vowed 
she would wire Roxy a retraction of her promise, she 
must be patient and sympathetic regarding Tony’s 


76 


JUDD & JUDD 


progress, remember that the housekeeping was her 
part. If only his tall figure would round the corner. 

Which it did, strolling contentedly to enjoy a 
cigar. As Blair realized this, there came to her 
mind the inevitable self-defense. Why had Tony 
not made it his business to know what she wanted ? 
She had studied his needs carefully. (He had 
always wanted a fitted bag, and had been on the 
point of buying a new robe.) She answered her¬ 
self that Tony made no effort to know her other¬ 
wise than romantically; he barred out what could be 
satisfactory companionship. By contrast with his 
work, Tony’s tastes had become Blair’s dislikes. He 
delighted in crime stories, wild west movies, musical 
comedies, funny tales with double meanings, long 
Sunday naps, heavy Sunday dinners! But even Blair 
did not glimpse the source of the trouble which lay 
in Tony’s lack of co-operation in his home. He 
was, as are many estimable husbands, young and 
old, who pay all bills and are seen crowding jewel¬ 
lers’ counters at the holidays—a shirker when it in¬ 
volved personal effort. To his mind, home was a 
magical place which rendered him homage and crea¬ 
ture comforts and before the door of which he said 
an open sesame at five thirty daily! 

Tony came into Twilldo with the dignified air of 


JUDD & JUDD 


77 


the injured party. After saving money to buy a 
bracelet most women would gloat over, to have Blair 
want to rant before a judge and reporters ask her 
opinion as to one piece bathing suits, likely as not— 
no sir, a man ought not be handed that kind of a 
deal. Still, it was Christmas—there was something 
underbred in having more than a passing argument. 

Blair did not fly into his arms nor did he invite 
her. With admirable graciousness, she invited him: 

“Come see how adorable your bracelet looks. If 
the sleeves are too short, I can easily change them.” 

Tony asked for no more concessions. “It is ador¬ 
able because you wear it,” gallantly kissing her hand. 
“I’m delighted with my bag and the robe fits like 
a French model. What a pair of sillies we are—eh, 
Blair?” 

She made the final concession. ‘Til not go to 
court—this time. Only please don’t say I misunder¬ 
stand you. I’ll wait, Tony.” 

After Aunt Agnes’s prolonged blessing, she gazed 
upon Mr. and Mrs. Judd with proud satisfaction. 

“They can’t tell us they are not happy,” insisted 
Dad Norcross. 

Tony glanced at Blair. In unison they answered 
their elders: 

“Righto. We still believe in Santa Claus.” 


CHAPTER IX 


By spring, Blair realized that her life had nar¬ 
rowed as any young wife’s life must if she is solely 
concerned with her husband’s success and the main¬ 
tenance of even a Twilldo. A child was coming in 
the autumn which stupendous prospect made per¬ 
sonal dissatisfaction ignoble. 

Tony, who was happy and helpless, had agreed 
to move into the country. It would insure fresh 
air and quiet for Blair and the baby, removal from 
Aunt Agnes who was certain to come to grief with 
Blair as to the methods of modern baby raising. 
Blair had had no experience with infancy, she ad¬ 
mitted. But she absorbed several modern books so 
she could quote the authority for her convictions. 
She had started to prepare a simple outfit when Aunt 
Agnes, from the kindest of motives, unearthed a 
box of Tony’s historical garments made after the 
wasteful and inconvenient patterns of some twenty- 
five years ago. The sentiment attached to them, as 
well as Aunt Agnes’s feelings, overruled Blair’s im- 
78 


JUDD & JUDD 


79 


pulse of refusal. Painstakingly, she remodelled and 
demolished the lace encrusted and tucked garments. 
With these added tasks, there was small time to be 
annoyed by Muriel, who considered Blair a legal 
slave. 

Blair did not attempt to enlighten Muriel. But 
in view of moving and motherhood, she resigned 
from active membership in organizations, comforted 
by the thought that when her child was old enough, 
it would be a simple matter to renew interests. 

Polly came weekly to sew with Blair, Polly on 
her trousseau, Blair on her layette. Sometimes 
Roxy dropped in to applaud or confuse them. They 
would end by listening to Roxy discuss world topics 
in a breezy fashion. Roxy now had the exclusive 
air of all public officials, so Blair accused. 

“Yet I adore hearing you talk,” she said, one 
twilight afternoon, following a spirited discourse on 
the increasing drug habit. “I rely on Polly to be the 
baby’s godmother, she will look a picture book 
person as she stands before the font, the infant 
wrapped in satin bordered eiderdown. But you, 
Roxy, are my godmother—you must keep me from 
being too stupid.” 

“Like Barkis, T’m willin’,’ but are you?” de¬ 
manded Roxy. “No use asking now—a year hence 


8o 


JUDD & JUDD 


perhaps. Only don’t ask me to wheel your child in 
the park—friendship has it’s limitations.” 

“As if Blair was not to be envied,” reproved 
Polly, twisting her solitaire on her slim finger. “I 
don’t like you, Roxy, when you belittle the funda¬ 
mentals of life—what is your life compared to 
Blair’s—there’s a challenge?” 

“Thank you,” Blair patted Polly’s hand. “Now, 
Roxy, speak up.” 

“My life is my sort of selfishness,” said Roxy un¬ 
concernedly, “but no more so than yours. Only my 
form of expression is less usual, therefore more 
commented upon. I dare say I’ll have years of 
being bored with my own company, I’ll dread the 
time after office hours, I’ll despise myself sufficiently. 

I dare say you will have years of being lonesome 
and ignored, yearning for someone’s respect and 
appreciation when your children are grown and you 
realize you have not kept early contacts and it is 
too late to form new ones. You’ll be considered 
passe, although you will have a wiser head and 
kinder heart than you have this very moment. It 
is too late for middle aged women to give the world 
something of the same service they have given their 
families unless they have exceptional ability or have 
kept their contacts. Here is a national problem, 


JUDD & JUDD 


81 


ladies—how can women serve their families as they 
should, yet divert that current of rare ability into 
impersonal service, when the time comes that 
families need them no longer? As it stands now, it 
is futile to educate women unless their lives can be 
more logical, their education properly demonstrated 
not repressed. I’m a regular little brochure this 
evening. Come, Polly, I’ll take you home—don’t 
think I’ve ridiculed domesticity—merely suggested 
that when you retire into a home, you do not al¬ 
low yourself to be locked in,” she threw on her trim 
sport coat. 

Clearing away the tea things, stopping to refold 
the gossamer slip, Blair found herself repeating 
Roxy’s words : “To divert the current-” 

Tony’s step banished reflections. He brought 
great news—a wonderful country place with two 
acres, on the edge of a suburb, was to be had for 
forty-five dollars a month. Think of it! The 
money saved from leasing Twilldo would pay for 
outside work. The garden and orchard would set 
their table. The house had electricity, water and a 
furnace. There was no gas but one could use an 
electric grill in summer and a wood range for winter. 
All the rooms need not be furnished, there were 
twelve and several halls! There were century old 


82 


JUDD & JUDD 


elms and a flower garden—if one cultivated it. The 
last tenant had been an eccentric hermit, so the place 
appeared neglected but a gardener and a cleaning 
woman would soon correct the impression. What 
did Blair say?” 

“Wonderful,” she agreed. 

“Today was a raw day, too,” added Tony, “but 
I could see what that rambling old house would look 
like in mid-summer or October.” 

Blair was equally deluded by its possibilities. It 
was inconvenient, damp, dilapidated. The abun¬ 
dance of mice and lack of congenial neighbors, windy 
halls, sagging floors, the torture of keeping a wood 
range aglow did not suggest themselves to Blair. 
Instead, she saw herself exploring second hand shops 
for walnut tables and marble topped dressers. They 
would buy rag carpet and ask Aunt Agnes’s permis¬ 
sion to loot her attic. Blair was thrilled at the pros¬ 
pect of fresh eggs and vegetables—perhaps their own 
cow. 

“You need the exercise,” she told Tony, “after all 
that office routine.” 

“Indeed, I’m counting on it. I can do any minor 
repairs. Sundays we can pretend we are on a picnic. 
The woods nearby must be crowded with spring 
flowers.” 


JUDD & JUDD 


83 


‘Til have the baby more to myself,” said Blair 
dreamily, “we’ve lived too close to people here in 
town.” 

They leased the White Elephant, as their friends 
dubbed it, the Judds retorting they had always 
wanted to be zoo keepers. The first of May saw 
them within its squeaking portals. There was no 
janitor near at hand to be bribed into doing extra 
tasks. Tony was obliged to leave the house by eight 
ten, walking to the trolley and making his office 
at nine fifteen. He could not reach home until 
six thirty. This was an unavoidable fly in the 
honey. Aunt Agnes hinted that they wished to 
be away from her, conducting herself with polite 
curiosity and nobly defending the White Elephant 
to her inquiring friends. Aunt Agnes’s was 
that form of loyalty towards her relatives which 
forbids even an honest admission of their mis¬ 
takes. 

“Sold into slavery,” was Roxy’s terse comment. 
But she came out, after hours, to help paint floor 
borders and even Tony acclaimed her a good scout 
when she devoted two Sundays to cleaning wood¬ 
work, lunching heroically off bread and cheese. 
Polly and Bill were a trifle patronizing and when 
Muriel drove out in her new car to pity them— 


8 4 


JUDD & JUDD 


and accept a few fresh eggs—Blair felt resentful 
towards the entire universe. 

She had not been able to estimate all it would 
mean, how her strength would suddenly wane, leav¬ 
ing her the victim of cruel fears, unjust fancies. 
Pity infuriated her, so did her friends’ over¬ 
emphasis on the few advantages of living out of 
town. She rewarded them by being childishly un¬ 
truthful as to her joy at living in the White Elephant, 
after which she became anything but hospitable in 
regard to invitations. 


CHAPTER X 


' Blair's father spent five weeks with them, com¬ 
muting into town with Tony. When Blair protested 
her lack of help, her father sent out a low-grade 
moron of a hired man who promptly set fire to the 
barn from his pipe. Nothing daunted, he next pro¬ 
duced a stout Lithuanian handmaiden, Tilley 
Ostrich, who fled one night leaving an alarming dis¬ 
crepancy in silver spoons and lump sugar. 

Despite closing off five of the rooms, there seemed 
no end of stairs. Nothing ever looked clean, Blair 
reflected dismally, as day after day, she struggled 
through her routine of getting Tony and her father 
off to town, clearing up dishes, planning the night 
meal and spending her noon hour lunching inade¬ 
quately off scraps and wondering what it all meant! 
Usually, the hired man was a lacking feature at the 
White Elephant. If there was such a person, there 
was no maid and Blair was obliged to cook his 
meals. If there was a maid, there was no hired man 
and Blair was compelled to take the outside tasks 
85 ' 


86 


JUDD & JUDD 


because the maid “never done nothin' like that.” 
The one time there was both a satisfactory man and 
a competent maid, a fervent courtship developed 
with a resultant elopement. 

Tony did all he could—as he frequently reminded. 
Her father paid a liberal amount of board and Aunt 
Agnes was never lacking in crucial moments. Still, 
the burden of things fell upon Blair who had so 
believed she would glory in the fact. She was over¬ 
whelmed by the situation which included an uncer¬ 
tain temper, a sallow complexion and a hysterical 
terror at the coming of her child, which she con¬ 
cealed by a conventional veneer of rejoicing. 

Despite her inhospitality, there was a great deal 
of company. It was such a pleasant drive, people 
explained. Blair missed the compactness of Twilldo, 
the community wash lines and Muriel’s player piano 
would have been easy to endure, by contrast. Their 
company was often composed of Tony’s friends. 
Blair little knew that many times her guests both 
ridiculed and pitied her. 

“And she is a college woman,” was the invariable 
remark, “wonder if she realized what she was up 
against.” 

“Aren’t you afraid the place is haunted?” Muriel 
asked, during a July visit for free food. “I’d perish 


JUDD & JUDD 


87 


out here—your nearest neighbor a farmer, at that.” 

“I'm glad to be alone,” Blair fibbed, seething with 
rebellion, “if the house is haunted, I wish I could 
capture the shades and make them help take care of 
it.” 

It was trying to be dusting Victorian hangovers 
and have smartly dressed, care-free people drive up 
to ask if they might picnic on the lawn—was the 
well water perfectly safe ? It was trying to see Tony 
go daily into the business world, yet have to remain 
alone with time for too much introspection and self- 
analysis to make for wholesomeness. It was even 
more trying to have Tony return, tired and hungry, 
careless of her situation, neglecting to do any of the 
“minor repairs.” 

Realizing that for a woman of trained mind, 
domestic drudgery rots the very soul, Blair envied 
the contented peasant with her Sunday apron of gay 
embroideries. She would have been more reconciled 
had Tony told her he appreciated the sacrifice, she 
wanted to be associated with the very word! But 
Tony considered her normally, happily circum¬ 
stanced. He was, at times, dangerously ambitious, 
nothing was to stop his progress. Truly, his chief 
incentive was Blair but he forgot to mention the fact. 

When he went to Chicago with a business delega- 


88 


JUDD & JUDD 


tion, Blair indulged in morbid reverie. Her dusty 
copy of Apology of Socrates was as near consolation 
as anything in the White Elephant territory. Re¬ 
inspired and confident of his abilities, Tony returned 
to be annoyed when Blair said: 

“Why tell me about it? Probably I would not 
understand.” 

Wisely, he refrained from argument. He went 
to his aunt’s for lunch and told himself he must 
remember Blair’s condition, things at the “farm” 
had been rather strenuous. But he did not include 
the adjective which had produced this lack of 
spontaniety—things were stupid! 

In August, Blair bobbed her hair and took to a 
smock and bloomers. 

“My hair took twenty minutes to do—this way, 
I run a comb through it and I’m presentable. I 
cannot have wash dresses to laundry and we cannot 
depend on steam laundries out here. I have to 
economize in strength. When I wore my gym¬ 
nasium suit, you liked me, Tony. You said you were 
glad I was athletic.” 

“So I did,” Tony felt reprehensible. “Only, I’ve 
been used to you the way you were—er-” 

“Do looks count for so much?” Blair was on the 
verge of tears. 


JUDD & JUDD 


89 


“Never.” For all of a week end Tony was the 
complimentary gallant. But he offset this by the 
wilful adoption of a stray dog and then rescuing 
four kittens from a watery and sensible grave. 

Both wondered as to winter at the White Ele¬ 
phant ; Blair had the feeling she would be snowed in 
like survivors of a polar expedition who must 
languish on an ice cape until a spring rescue. Still, 
she would have her child. From dread of its coming, 
she had returned to radiant expectancy. At least 
she would have a new interest to prevent despicable 
jealousy of Roxy's freedom and Polly’s romance, 
even Tony’s untrammelled career. She was fearful 
lest anyone suspect this, she praised everything Roxy 
and Polly said or did and told Tony that she ex¬ 
pected marvellous things of him—“my, such mar¬ 
vellous things, Tonibus!” 


In September, Blair’s daughter regarded the world 
with large, bright eyes and became gymnastic with 
colic immediately afterwards. A month later, hav¬ 
ing named her Beatrice to avoid either Agnes or 
Blair, Mrs. Anthony Judd was ready to discount 
vigorously Hugo’s statement that “a woman’s last 
doll is her first child.” 


90 


JUDD & JUDD 


This barbarously behaved, ravenous young 
woman had succeeded in capturing her mother’s 
heart and now seemed bent on demolishing her 
brain. 

“Here we are,” Blair wrote Roxy, in dire need of 
confession, “living respectively but not respectably 
in this barnacle—one handsome husband, one weary 
wife, one maiden aunt bent on ruining my child’s 
schedule, a heavy footed, fragile brained maid who 
gets mixed up with all of us. Food is always rais¬ 
ing a crop of green fuzz in the ice box, there are 
new kittens. I have lost my identity—and two teeth 
—I almost believe it does not matter. You see how 
far gone I am? I’d be content to wear wrappers 
and lean over the fence to whisper, ‘We fry ours in 
lard.’ Once, years ago, I loved the poor and devoted 
an hour weekly to helping them emerge. Now, I 
realize how superior—and secure—they must have 
felt!” 


CHAPTER XI 


By November, Blair was stiffled by the increasing 
duties. It was a distinct shock, besides, to discover 
that Tony seemed proud of being a father only when 
Beatrice chose to be asleep. 

Romance was ended. Tony must have proper 
sleep, his aunt insisted. She also insisted that it did 
not matter when a baby slept or was fed if only 
“the poor mites did not cry—just let the old special¬ 
ists be treated like they advised helpless infants to be 
and see what they would soon enough say P* 

So Tony betook himself to the closed wing, en¬ 
during a poverty of surroundings that the nursery 
wails might not rouse him. When Blair, falsely 
alarmed, would call him in the night, he was vehe¬ 
ment in disapproval and utterly useless. In the 
morning—after his second cup of coffee—he was 
certain Blair had done the right thing, a mother’s 
instincts never failed, which was one way of saying 
that a mere father must not sacrifice sleep. 

At times, he regarded his daughter proudly. 

91 


9 2 


JUDD & JUDD 


‘‘You’re a great old lady,” he would say, “what 
revolution is brewing in your topknot ? Think 
you’ll make a stir, don’t you? Keep your mother 
stepping to stay in line with you—where shall we 
enter her, Blair? Oh, you haven’t got that far? 
Well, we’ll send you off somewhere, old lady, train 
you to tell folks what is what—yes, we will—hi, 
Blair—hurry—to speak with elegance, Bea’s regur¬ 
gitating!” Which ended any conversation with 
Tony’s great old lady. 

When Tony stayed in town over night, with good 
reasons and always after an endearing telephone to 
that effect, Blair would trudge down to the gour¬ 
mand of a furnace and shovel on coal, her bobbed 
hair flying rebelliously about her thin cheeks and 
her body numb despite the bathrobe and steamer 
blanket. Then she would climb back to resume her 
care of the great old lady. Beatrice had no intention 
of remaining unnoticed. She was a lusty, roaring 
member of the family who made known her de¬ 
mands so vigorously that Blair relaxed her scientific 
schedule. 

During these nights, Blair would wonder just 
what fatherhood ought to mean. A proud reserve 
prevented calling attention to Tony’s lack of personal 
effort. She even lulled herself with the sentimental 


JUDD & JUDD 


93 


fallacy: “Very well—when his child grows up and 
is a stranger to him, while I have her confidence— 
he will have but himself to blame. I have been 
faithful and in the end my reward will be ac¬ 
cordingly.” 

Once, staying in town overnight, Tony break¬ 
fasted with Roxy. He had met her returning from 
early court and she insisted that he drive with her to 
her flat where she composed an excellent omelette. 

“Wasn’t that nice?” he asked Blair “you have to 
hand it to Roxy, no matter how eccentric she ap¬ 
pears. Her brains are life size.” 

Blair had spent a wakeful night with a teething 
daughter. Another time, she would have thought 
the breakfast a lark. 

“I am glad you were satisfied,” her lips curving 
downward as if to repress a sob. 

“Why, lovely, you don’t mind. It was your 
friend. If I hadn’t been trying to economize, I 
wouldn’t have bumped into her at a crossing. Was 
Bea bothersome? Is that it?” 

Blair’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits of 
light. “I had about one hour of sleep. I had to 
fire up three times and wait to reverse the draughts 
while the wind howled like an invading army. , I 
don’t believe you realize how hard it is—this is not 


94 


JUDD & JUDD 


the sort of a life you expected me to have, is it ? Or 
am I mistaken?” She was both unreasonable and 
tired. 

“You know better,” he accused, both oblivious to 
their daughter’s cries for attention. “Incidentally, 
my life is not what I planned or expected. I don’t 
suppose planning is the wisest sort of an indoor 
sport. We thought coming here would be best for 
everybody. I did not realize what commuting 
meant or how ramshackle the place is. I wish I 
could make a fortune overnight, you’d see how 
fast I’d spare you any drudgery. But I wish you 
would realize,” his eyes were resentful, “I am no 
lounge lizard. I keep my best foot forward. 
These are the years we must work and endure— 
we can sit aboard our yacht and sentimentalize 
over them later on. I must make my mark by the 
time I am forty-five or I’m done—everyone 
would bear me out. I must do the frontier and 
foundation work now—and I can’t do that and stay 
home to tend the baby.” 

His words produced a numbing, unpleasant ef¬ 
fect. Blair was overcome by a sense of her short¬ 
comings, Tony’s nobility. She was a hysterical 
shirk, underbrained, no doubt college had been a 
grave mistake—it exaggerated and camouflaged 


JUDD & JUDD 


95 


her moron tendencies, gave her the courage of 
her ignorance. Tony was a superior husband. 
Despite this mental flaggellation, Blair still rebelled. 

“If I don’t make my mark by forty-five, I’m 
done,” Tony truthfully stated. He must do the 
frontier and foundation work now. Well—what 
of Blair? If she remained at the White Elephant 
with incompetent help, remaking clothes, resigning 
from organizations, stagnating from lack of mental 
stimulus—would she have any chance of making 
her mark after she was forty-five ? Does any 
woman? Would not her family, for whom she 
had allowed intellectual cobwebs to cover her brain, 
suddenly discover her reddish hands, her rusty wit? 
Of what use would have been this education? Blair 
Norcross, honor graduate, talented, idealistic, am¬ 
bitious, had married Tony Judd and now they lived 
at the White Elephant where Blair washed baby 
flannels and sometimes floors! She was using her 
wedding gown for her party frock and she no long¬ 
er composed sacred songs or tried to write adver¬ 
tising articles! 

The upshot of this reverie was a womanly seda¬ 
tive: “If I have made it possible for Tony to suc¬ 
ceed, I shall not regret the hours I have spent with 
my hands in icy water looking over his nourishing 


9 6 


JUDD & JUDD 


vegetables! Back of everyone who succeeds is the 
someone who has made it possible.” 

Despite her love for Beatrice, the child brought 
her little pleasure. She had been unused to sub¬ 
merging personal desires to a baby’s stupid yet exact¬ 
ing needs. To a degree, Tony expressed her own 
mind state when he said he was not thrilled over his 
daughter while she was in a “slug stage.” Blair re¬ 
proved herself for this impatience, she was develop¬ 
ing a neurotic conscience these days, as well as ac¬ 
cumulating a box of distasteful yellow soap ends 
under the vague impression of being thrifty. 

The Sterlings drove out to take Blair and the 
baby for a drive, during which Muriel advised 
Blair to return to civilization, she often saw Tony 
in town—he seemed as handsome and debonair as 
ever. 

“Poor girl, she looks as if she had been rained 
on,” she told Oliver, as they drove away, “picture 
little Muriel in her stead!” 

Properly trained, Oliver replied he would not 
permit such a transition. 

“It was not Tony’s idea altogether,” argued 
Muriel, “Blair could have stayed in town but she is 
queer. Over-education makes frumps sooner or 
later. She mooned about wanting nature—and read 


JUDD & JUDD 


97 


the craziest books. It seems unwomanly to my itey 
bitey mind for a girl to translate Greek and collect 
statistics as to degenerates! Besides, they are apt 
to have to wear glasses. Blair has the oddest ideas 
—I took her to see a hundred thousand dollar pro¬ 
duction of oriental dances and she said, I’m afraid 
the people nearby could hear, ‘I wish every boy and 
girl could be placed in a life class before they are 
twenty. They would never be intrigued by this sort 
of thing. A nude woman is the most chaste, beauti¬ 
ful thing in the world, a half nude the most inde¬ 
cent/ Now, I ask you—” 

Ollie absent-mindedly agreed. He was bent on 
reaching the Tiptoe Inn to seek out the proprietor 
and convince him that he was a friend of the brother- 
in-law of the man who brought the inn tonsil varnish 
right over the border—and what could Mr. and Mrs. 
Sterling expect this afternoon? 


CHAPTER XII 


The second anniversary was a dismal affair. A 
January freeze wrecked the plumbing; Blair’s father 
was away. Aunt Agnes had taken up her post at 
the White Elephant until things should be thawed. 
Tony’s tribute was to bring home a derelict, Pat 
Towers, who had spent his time either in jail or 
Alaska and was now east to do odd jobs, legal or 
otherwise. 

Pat protested he liked being in the suburb of a 
suburb, he could cook, tend furnace and house- 
keep as naturally as some people could set bones! 
The anniversary dinner was a strange affair, de¬ 
signed and delivered by Pat “out of my head like” 
as he explained. He wore someone’s second hand 
golf suit, covered by Blair’s pink gingham apron, 
and shuffled in and out with the dishes, pausing to 
converse with Beatrice in her bassinet or spread a 
feast of scraps for the menagerie. 

In answer to Aunt Agnes’s protest, Blair insisted, 

98 


JUDD & JUDD 


99 


“He is something with arms and legs and he can 
put on coal and take out ashes and boil potatoes— 
I refuse to be too critical.” 

A few weeks later, it was Tony who defended 
Pat. “I know he chews tobacco, that he cleans, 
dusts, fairly cooks with but one implement—a 
turkey wing. That he starts sweeping around mid¬ 
night and seldom arises before nine. That is due 
to his Alaskan training, no one up there has an 
orthodox sense of time. I suspect he has been in 
jail—he cringes too easily—but we cannot get any¬ 
one better at mid-winter.” 

Pat was inoffensive in many ways, with a dog-like 
devotion for Blair and Beatrice and a willingness 
to do anything, if it could be accomplished with his 
turkey wing. Towards spring, the lure of the 
road proved overpowering and after a systematic 
clean-up of Pat’s disorder, Blair hung his turkey 
wing over Tony’s desk as a souvenir. 

When Polly declared Blair must be her matron of 
honor at the April wedding, Blair protested. 

“I’ve nothing new to wear—we’ve had such heavy 
expenses out here.” 

“Your wedding dress,” insisted Polly, uncon¬ 
cerned with the inner workings of the Judds. 
“That would be a pretty idea, too.” Polly was all 


dimples and confidences and bridal showers these 
days. 

Blair felt wistful. If she glanced in a mirror, she 
knew how startling would be the contrast between 
her house dress, her unwaved hair and Polly’s mod¬ 
ish serge, her golden, marcelled head. 

“I hope you’ll be so happy, dear,” Blair said 
vaguely, “if you really want me, I’ll see what I can 
do to the old dress.” 

“We won’t have anyone else. Bill saw Tony 
yesterday—don’t worry about not giving me a 
shower, I know how things are.” Blair fancied 
Polly was patronizing. Wilfully, she insisted she 
give a luncheon at a hotel, she could leave Beatrice 
with Aunt Agnes. Polly was persuaded to name the 
one available date. 

“I hope you move back to town,” she ventured, 
“it seems so unlike both of you to be here.” 

“Don’t ever hope,” Blair said impulsively. 
“You’ll soon enough find out that things just hap¬ 
pen.” 

“Nonsense, you needn’t stay here. I wouldn’t slave 
so for Bill and I adore him. Besides, Bill would not 
let me—he said so.” 

Blair bristled at any hinted criticism of Tony. As 
if Tony was not Bill’s superior. Bill who depended 


JUDD & JUDD 


IOI 


on family backing for his position—as if Bill—she 
consoled herself inconsistently by thinking Polly 
would soon enough find out that Bill was like all 
men, once in his shirt sleeves. 

Blair gave her luncheon at the best hotel in town. 
Proudly, she wore her wedding dress, her enamel 
bracelet and her mother’s sapphire ring. She 
bought a bunch of violets and accepted the others’ 
conclusion that Tony had bought them. Well, it 
was Tony’s money, Blair told herself. She could 
not enjoy the luncheon because she would keep 
counting its cost. She imagined she was being 
tolerated and pitied—everyone else was so much 
better dressed, not only their clothes were new but 
so were their remarks! 

Tony was polite in asking for details and telling 
her not to think twice of the expense. It had been 
the right thing to do. Some day, they would have 
a real home and entertain with a receiving line and 
a string orchestra—why worry now? 

Tony had no inkling that Blair felt neglected, out 
of step with the procession. He rated himself an ad¬ 
mirable husband because he paid the bills and made 
love to no other woman save his wife. 

At Polly’s wedding, Blair found, to her astonish¬ 
ment, the Sterlings. Muriel confided that she was 


102 


JUDD & JUDD 


making the social grade rapidly. Ollie had made 
some remarkable deals—it would not be long before 
the Sterlings would be building their own home. 
Muriel was both graceful and gracious in a canary 
velvet creation with a feathered helmet calling at¬ 
tention to her lithsome, attractive self. Muriel re¬ 
ceived more attention than did Blair, matron of 
honor. 

Beatrice was ailing, so Blair left early to see she 
had her medicine and an oil rub. Roxy drove her to 
Miss Judd’s, Tony lingering behind to help in the 
send-off. There was no point to his coming away, 
he would have been annoyed by the verbal battle 
likely to be waged between his wife and his aunt. 

“Attention, Mrs. Blair,” Roxy began, “you seem 
to be breeding an extra set of nerves. Pack up the 
infant’s kimono and your nail file, leave Tony to run 
the ranch while you visit me. I watched you today, 
you winced and blushed and stuttered until I was 
ashamed—how is that for frankness? You 
need a rest from the grind. Keep house in my 
apartment, let me show you how to give your child 
some wholesome neglect. Tony is a reasonable boy, 
if you go at him the right way. Tell him you must 
have a change and I’ve asked to treat you to one. 
You’ll disapprove of my way of living, that will 


JUDD & JUDD 103 

show up Tony in an admirable light. You need con¬ 
trast.” 

I d love to, Blair admitted, “could we get raw 
milk for Beatrice?” 

“Raw or polished—leave it to me. The thing is 
to get some pep for mother.” 

“When would I come?” the idea seemed as al¬ 
luring as it was impossible. 

“Tomorrow—next day,” decided Roxy, “did you 
see your friend Muriel vamping the ushers? What 
did Tony call her—a semi-demi? Good enough.” 

“Do you think Polly and Bill will be happy?” 
Blair changed the subject, Muriel's presence had 
been a thorn in her flesh. 

“I think Polly is the domestic, bridge-playing 
type who will keep Bill feeling he has done better 
than he deserved. They are going to London, his 
father confided, Bill to represent his firm. Polly 
will have servants and, therefore, time to improve 
her bridge.” 

Blair laughed. “If I should visit you, I might 
get up my ambition to do an article I once planned 
—how Helen of Troy was the first flapper.” 

“Day after tomorrow at the latest,” was Roxy’s 
ultimatum, “and don’t bring a trunk—I’d have to 
hang it out the window.” 


104 


JUDD & JUDD 


An earnest talk between Judd and wife resulted in 
Blair’s accepting the invitation. Tony was disap¬ 
pointed in what he considered Blair’s lack of endur¬ 
ance. Still, Blair had been on the job without any 
breaks, if she wanted a glimpse of Roxy’s back¬ 
ground, it might convince her that life as his wife 
was not impossible. Both felt misunderstood and 
magnanimous when they grudgingly admitted people 
can see too much of each other—especially under a 
strictly domestic set of circumstances. 

Tony reminded himself that he had been thankful 
for staying in town now and then. He could not 
deny the hotel was restful and there was always hot 
water and an abundance of towels! He could go to 
the office the next morning with a clear-cut, neutral 
viewpoint. He hated the image he invariably took 
away of Blair—hastily dressed, her hair crowded 
under a mob cap, an abused intonation in her voice 
as she said: “Goodbye, dear—remember the boric 
acid crystals, if you please.” 

No, he would not regret this visit, although she 
must not suspect this was so. As for living in 
bachelor bliss, that was easy. He would get his 
own breakfast and eat in town the rest of the time. 
He would have uninterrupted time for extra work; 
Sundays, he would bring out friends to enjoy a day 


JUDD & JUDD 


105 


of loafing. The more he dilated on this, the more 
the idea appealed. He became tenderly insistent that 
she go, he resolved to repaint some floor borders and 
make shelves for her indoor conservatory. He 
would prove what a hundred per cent sort of hus¬ 
band he was. 

Blair’s only request was that he did not try to 
see or telephone her unless it was an emergency. 
He must pretend that she had really gone away—and 
write her often. 

“Then we may grow sentimental, Tony, com¬ 
pletely duped once more.” 

“Blair,” hurt at her bitter tone. 

“I mean it. I want to be a novelty to you and to 
have you a novelty to. Beatrice and myself. We 
want to put the bloom back on the peach—we believe 
the lily sometimes requires a trifle of gilding. 
I’m all nerves—I’ve been a great silly to get myself 
into such a mental black knot but I’ve had to learn 
all new things and learn them quickly—it has told 
on me, Tony, because I’ve never stopped fretting to 
practise the old things. I’m going to stay away un¬ 
til I can come back rested and serene—but you must 
stay away, too. I’ve gone to no-man’s land.” 


CHAPTER XIII 

While Tony was a reckless zoo-keeper, writing 
Blair daily and with increasing, sentimental concern, 
Blair was re-discovering the interesting old world 
she had never expected to lose. 

Roxy’s apartment was the type of fireproof tor¬ 
ture containing a wall bed which became a writing 
desk and bookcase by day, the dining room was com¬ 
pressed under a window seat, springing up into a 
pullman table and bench while the telephone, con¬ 
cealed under the alluring skirt of a doll-lady, was 
also the top of the china cabinet. It was so compact 
and dual, Blair would not have been surprised to 
see the bathtub fold up into a handsome portrait of 
a water spaniel. Still, lack of space had its com¬ 
pensations. It did not indicate lack of ideas nor 
produce aching feet from toiling up and down stairs 
and winding hills. Roxy was located so one could 
walk to the stores and theaters, there was a super¬ 
abundance of noise and a lack of trees but Blair’s 
106 


JUDD & JUDD 


107 


weary mind did not take note of these discrepancies 
until June came and Tony’s letters outdid those of 
their engagement days. 

Beatrice approved the new arrangement. By 
nature a cosmopolitan, she enjoyed the attentions of 
various, strange persons who, in turn, enjoyed the 
novelty of a baby for a tenant. Roxy did not per¬ 
mit Blair to be any trouble. Purposely, she asked 
her to do the housekeeping while she went about her 
business with marked regularity. When she asked 
Blair to go some place or if she would like to have 
people in for tea and Blair refused, Roxy never 
argued the matter. Blair was to do as she liked even 
to washing and dressing that ridiculously attractive 
infant several times daily. 

Nor did Roxy pretend to help with Beatrice. She 
had every intention of being fond of Beatrice when 
the latter arrived at the civilized stage of not putting 
everything into her mouth. In turn, Blair compre¬ 
hended Roxy’s reactions. 

Sometime it was a religious cult to which Roxy 
took her, Blair feeling as if she were in a theological 
five and ten cent store; sometimes, it was a racey 
matinee over which Roxy laughed and Blair de¬ 
bated—ending with laughter, too. Or it was one 
of Roxy’s settlement clubs where Blair was asked 


io8 


JUDD & JUDD 


to start the evening’s fun or a civic meeting or an 
interior decorator’s studio where Blair basked in 
riots of color and symphonies of design. Roxy 
even coaxed her to come to court sessions, she made 
her eat at bohemian cafes where you were apt to 
find your coffee cup had been filled with pale claret, 
she forced her to pour tea for the college club’s 
last at-home for the year and to translate the 
French pantomine the little theater wanted to put on. 
There seemed no angle of impersonal, progressive 
life which Roxy did not introduce to her guest. 
When Blair had hesitated about leaving Beatrice 
asleep in the apartment, with no one on guard save 
the cuckoo clock, Roxy insisted: 

“She’s in that crib thing, over which I’ve frac¬ 
tured a few ribs—and if she wakened, she’d howl 
and strengthen her lungs or stuff deadly poison in 
her mouth and it would act as a tonic—the little 
monopolist.” 

Blair was loath to try it. She had never done it 
before. 

“If she can get that kind of room service from her 
mother, I don’t blame her,” ridiculed Roxy. “But 
you are foolish to be submerged before your child is 
a year old—it usually happens when they are around 
eighteen. Let’s ask the janitor’s wife how many 


JUDD & JUDD 109 

ducats she needs before she will keep a weather eye 
on Bea.” 

After a little, Blair took this kind of thing as a 
matter of course. She was eager, too, for the post¬ 
man’s ring. Tony’s letter was certain to be in the 
box. When Roxy left for the day and Blair changed 
the bed back into a desk and made Beatrice a white 
of egg dessert, she would answer his letter—with 
crosses for kisses, at that! She had things to tell 
him, not whines about the dog tracking her re¬ 
cently mopped kitchen, why was he late, she could 
not keep things tasting as they should—no, her day 
had been very stupid—the only event being the 
chance to buy a washing machine. 

She was thinking how summer would beautify the 
old house, how Tony would smile when he lifted 
Beatrice and learned how much she had gained. 
Beatrice disproved the theory that occasional apart¬ 
ment house life was productive of mal-nourishment. 
She seemed brighter with different people running in 
and out—it had been somewhat dull at the White 
Elephant for this “great old lady.” 

Roxy did not relax her schedule. Roxy, herself, 
demanded that things happen. Her nervous energy 
would not permit solitude unless some cataclysm 
had taken place. Capable, fearless, she worked for 


no 


JUDD & JUDD 


the cause, not the reward. Few organizations which 
did not ask Roxy to join them; as someone said, 
“Miss Hubbell is ninety-nine per cent efficient—one 
per cent human.” 

Forgetting Roxy’s childishness when she was ill, 
Blair resumed the hero worship which Tony had in¬ 
terrupted. She also ceased to worry over Aunt 
Agnes’s disapproval of this visit. Why must Blair 
visit only a few squares from Tony’s office yet forbid 
him to come near, although she trotted about town 
with this Roxy person, leaving Beatrice to the care 
of a janitress! She secretly believed it was due to 
over-education. Poor Tony! He even refused to 
let her come to the White Elephant and have it 
cleaned. Aunt Agnes longed to make the place spot¬ 
less—for Tony’s sake. But Blair had anticipated 
this possibility and requested otherwise. Whenever 
his aunt protested this strange vacation, Tony waxed 
eloquent in Blair’s behalf. 

Roxy had coaxed her to stay until after the elev¬ 
enth of June, in order that they attend the luncheon 
and annual reunion of their boarding school alumnae 
and to allow Roxy to go to a woman’s conference in 
Cleveland, during which Blair was to attend to 
Roxy’s personal work. There were committees to 
report to and a speech read at a directors’ meeting 


JUDD & JUDD 


hi 


of a working girls’ home. Blair was thrilled at the 
prospect. She had been like the small boy sitting be¬ 
side the chauffeur, yearning to take the wheel. 

The boarding school which both girls attended 
had been an orthodox city affair with much formal¬ 
ity and little fresh air, the constant urging of pupils 
to apply the acid test before speaking or acting: 
Is it right—wrong—vulgar? 

As Blair studied the room of guests, she realized 
they comprised a different type of woman than her 
college alumnae afforded. But a small percentage 
of Mrs. Bishop’s graduates attended college, the 
majority married, a few went abroad for art or 
music. They were the well to do, sheltered home 
women of conservative views, prosperous husbands. 
Their wealth was neither ostentatious nor advan¬ 
tageous, so Roxy observed. Few smoked, everyone 
went to church, almost all were for suffrage but 
against feminism, they belonged, en masse, to the 
humane society, the red cross—and an afternoon 
bridge club. They were devoted to their families 
and went to New York with them to obtain the best 
in drama and clothes. The 1878 graduates seemed 
lovely cameos. Blair admired their white hair un¬ 
der dignified hats, unrouged, well preserved cheeks. 
This atmosphere was relaxing after Roxy’s smoke- 


112 


JUDD & JUDD 


ridden socialists who were bent on upsetting the 
universe because they knew someone else would 
come along and right it. These matrons chatted of 
-debutant daughters, the way silk stockings had re¬ 
trograded in quality, auto-suggestion, the rector’s 
neuritis, the income tax. 

They had a reminiscence programme, while eating 
oyster patties and salted almonds. It seemed light 
weight to Blair. She wondered how many present 
arose during a zero night to fire up the furnace, 
struggle with a Pat Towers or a Tilly Ostrich, she 
wished they would stop asking where she was to 
spend the summer. When everyone rose in turn to 
give both their maiden and married names in order 
to be definitely identified, Blair merely whispered: 

“I am Blair Norcross Judd,” although she was 
forced to smile at Roxy’s bold: 

“I am Roxy Hubbell Always,” which won a faint 
laugh. 

That night, having given the baby her place card 
to devour, Roxy left for the West. Blair enjoyed 
playing understudy. She did the extra clerical work 
with Beatrice sliding off her lap, she took her to 
the working girls’ home and left her in a matron’s 
lap while she read Roxy’s report; Beatrice clutching 
her hat and producing a dissolute slant, she invaded 


JUDD & JUDD 


ii3 

the district attorney’s office to call for Roxy’s per¬ 
sonal mail. What delighted Blair was this brief 
proof that she could do Roxy’s work—although 
Roxy could not do Blair’s. With this satisfaction, 
Blair was content to tell Roxy goodbye and be 
driven out to the White Elephant where she would 
surprise Tony that night. 

All the way home, she was telling herself, “I am 
no longer stale and stupid—but poor Roxy has no 
Tony or Beatrice, nor could she care for them if 
she had. Joy of joys, we are going home.” She was 
absent-minded when Roxy set her down before a 
neglected looking porch. 

“You have been a life saver,” she said carelessly, 
“and you’re to come out for our first strawberry 
shortcake.” Unlocking the door, Blair confided to 
her daughter, “My love—we are home!” 


CHAPTER XIV 


But she discovered her house had been inhabited 
by a pig, not a poet! Author of her daily effusions 
it was true—but Tony had allowed grocery and 
drug supplies to become nil, dust to thicken on every 
article, unsavoury fragments of ham, egg shells, 
olive pits, cheese rinds, and dozens of mineral water 
bottles to ornament the kitchen and dining room. 
His bed resembled a dugout fortified with crumpled 
linen and detective stories. There were numberless 
details worthy of indignant exposure. 

Blair sat Beatrice in the least dusty spot, donned 
an apron and began renovation. Roxy had tele¬ 
phoned Tony that certain parties were suspected of 
having arrived at his house—he better go home and 
see about it. Innocent of his shortcomings, expect¬ 
ing a romantic Blair, Tony bought flowers, got 
a shave and hair cut, a toy for Beatrice and arrived 
at five. 

By this time, Blair had removed only the top layer, 
as she told him promptly. She had washed the 


JUDD & JUDD 


115 

dishes and found enough linen to make the beds, she 
had sent for a man to come in the morning and beat 
rugs and wash windows. There was nothing to eat 
but cereals and bouillon cubes. Fortunately, she 
had brought along a thermos of milk for Bea. Tony 
could eat cereals and bouillon cubes or return to 
town—she wished for nothing save rest. She 
thought it the most selfish, inexcusable thing he had 
ever done, she knew now why women seldom left 
their husbands—returning was too overwhelming. 

Convinced he had been an indulgent, lonely hus¬ 
band, Tony’s temper asserted itself and there fol¬ 
lowed one of those violent dialogues which are 
seldom effectual, always disturbing for days after¬ 
wards. 

“Your aunt has spoiled you,” Blair accused, 
“never tell me I am the product of a boarding school 
and family hotels. You must have noticed the dust, 
the dirty dishes—couldn’t you have had someone 
come in to clean?” 

“You told me you did not wish my aunt snooping 
—yes, that was your careless word—snooping about 
your house. I tried to do as you wished. Is this 
any way to greet me ? You’d think I’d been running 
a still. Well, I am going to town and stay over¬ 
night. Give me a grocery list and I’ll send out the 


n6 


JUDD & JUDD 


things on the first delivery. I’m sorry you seem so 
upset—can’t you realize I was here very little and I 
did not know the exact day you were to come? I 
was not trained to do housework, Blair, but to hold 
down a pretty big job.” 

“So was I,” she flung back bitterly, “like many 
women are trained—only to find we must be sat¬ 
isfied with petty jobs and not complain. It is 
your selfishness, your aunt’s pampering, it is—I 
almost hate you just now, you are so sleek and 
shaved and smelly with rose talcum. And then this 
—this house! I hope Beatrice becomes another 
Roxy—yes, I do.” 

It was a week before Blair and Tony decided both 
had been right, both wrong. Blair should not make 
such extravagant statements, Tony should have kept 
a semblance of order and had sense enough to bring 
in a cleaning woman without telling his aunt. He 
had had good news to tell Blair, too—but no man 
would have told it under such heavy fire, such a 
harangue—yes, harangue. To have his lovely al¬ 
most screech at him! What were cigarette butts and 
cheese rinds compared to their love! Thank good¬ 
ness, Bea was no older, to have had her understand 
and remember would have been a deep humiliation. 
What good had the vacation accomplished if her 


JUDD & JUDD 


ii 7 

nerves snapped off like this—well, his news was he 
was raised to three hundred and fifty a month—he 
was buying stock which bade fair to double itself 
before long. Oh, yes, miserable degenerate that he 
was in her eyes, he had been considered worthy of 
advancement by the firm. Now was he to be scolded 
because he had forgotten to rinse out his tea towels ? 

To celebrate, they went to town for dinner and the 
theater, spending the night with Aunt Agnes, who 
was magnanimous in her welcome. Blair was con¬ 
scientiously unhappy about the happening. She 
could not forgive the state of her house any more 
than her own lack of self-control. She agreed to 
everything Tony said, congratulating him on his 
success with such sincerity, that he resolved to buy 
her a reckless Christmas present. 

Judd and wife experienced another hades of a 
summer, Tony declared, despite Blair’s vacation and 
the enlarged income; help remained impossible and 
Blair’s father spent his summer with them, oblivious 
of the additional work. Beatrice celebrated her 
grandfather’s arrival by cutting teeth in groups of 
two and three, with as much protesting and as little 
sleep as any case on record. The Sterlings were at 
the shore, Roxy was out West, Polly and Bill in 
London with Polly writing about her “trim maids 


n8 


JUDD & JUDD 


and funny little buttons to do the knives and boots 
—you don’t mind being damp and antiquated when 
you can tap a bell and have someone come do what¬ 
ever you like.” 

Blair found herself a trifle morbid when they left 
the White Elephant that fall, subleasing it to Slavs 
who were delighted with it’s possibilities. Blair 
was expecting another child, which in itself pre¬ 
cluded their staying through another winter. Not 
ready to buy, they found what Tony termed the 
Bungahigh, a new, stucco affair atop a corkscrew 
hill known as Hillside Terrace, a one family develop¬ 
ment tract built and largely owned by Peter Cabana, 
self-made and advertised contractor. 

Having failed to sell the Bungahigh for over a 
year, its alarming cracks and sagging floors caused 
him to rent it for seventy-five dollars a month— 
six small rooms, a suggestion of a sun porch, a 
garage, a red tile, leaking roof and a pigmy pine tree 
which caused it to be referred to as “the little home 
with the landscaped grounds.” 


CHAPTER XV 


Blair became optimistic over the moving, even 
if the expense and effort of being settled and buying 
new things were no small items. They were back 
in town, she had hardwood floors, steam heat, base 
plugs for her lamps. She could go to things and 
have day help. Ambition rekindled. Beatrice would 
be quite a toddler when a brother or sister should 
join the family. Tony was succeeding as fast as it 
was safe to succeed, one of the firm had them out 
for dinner and hinted he expected big things from 
Tony. Life was fairly satisfactory. 

When Tony bought an oriental rug for the living 
room and surprised her with a cloud of pink tulle, 
commonly known as an afternoon frock, Blair felt 
that life was rather interesting. 

By November, she was on speaking terms with her 
neighbors and their name listed in the telephone di¬ 
rectory. Peter Cabana, who lived in a magnificent 
affair on the crest of the hill, had called twice, his 


120 


JUDD & JUDD 


limousine parked democratically in the drive. Their 
chimney refusing to draw and several bolts and nails 
dropping from their intended positions, Mr. Cabana 
had been a self-appointed committee of investiga¬ 
tion. 

He was a sandy haired, florid complexioned per¬ 
son, his lavish smile featuring several gold teeth. He 
styled himself a friend of the under dog, nor was 
he ashamed of having been a poor boy and without 
“book education.” He had scoffed at society until 
recently, when he joined a man’s club and became 
passive on the subject of snobs. He boasted he was 
a friend of all the children but his home contained 
none of them. He liked to play cards and flirt with 
the wives whose husbands purchased his altruistic 
homes. There had been rumors concerning certain 
of these flirtations but nothing definite ever devel¬ 
oped. Cabana’s first wife had been cook in a wealthy 
family. It was Katrinka’s savings which built the 
first two family flats but she never enjoyed their 
profits. She continued to “eat work” as Cabana 
complained. After ten years of wretched unhappi¬ 
ness, she died and Cabana, having seen that she was 
insured, used his increased capital to build 
an office block. But he was not content to re-marry 
unless his wife insured him social advantages. 


JUDD & JUDD 


121 


He startled everyone by bringing home an unattrac¬ 
tive but cultured gentlewoman as his next choice. 
Of excellent family but no means and wearied of 
teaching school, Miss Lowden had rashly agreed to 
marry this man whom she thought to be a childlike 
person with splendid possibilities. Although this 
wife soon became a neglected invalid, she had 
socially erased the fact that the first wife had been a 
cook. But in helping Cabana, she met her own 
Waterloo. Behind closed doors, he called her “old 
maid” and mimicked her niceties, saying he was a 
fool for having married her on the strength of her 
ancestors—a tutor would have done him just as 
well. If his first marriage had been for money, the 
second for learning, his third should be for love! 
Did she understand? 

Cabana found Blair an enigma. She was rather 
attractive, if properly dressed, yet indifferent to him 
although aware that he was Peter Cabana and his 
time meant money. He considered her taste in 
furnishings too “pale” and she had spoilt her child. 
His first call was brief, due to the fact that Beatrice 
was having dinner, wallowing alternately in mashed 
potatoes and custard. Blair made it clear this was 
not her leisure hour. 

The second call found Beatrice asleep, a fire of 


122 


JUDD & JUDD 


birch logs struggling to burn and Blair in her new 
pink silk dress. The setting pleased him. 

“How I love a home woman,” he began, “take 
these crazy, advanced creatures out of my sight. I m 
older than you, little girl, I can talk as if I was your 
dad. You keep your mind on your home and your 
husband and you’ll come out winner. I’ve seen too 
many young couples end by that horrible menace 
to civilization—the divorce court. Why? The 
woman did not keep her interest in her home. My 
own home—ever noticed it—is not a real home, I’m 
telling you in confidence—ah, me, there is nothing 
finer than love-” 

Beatrice took this interesting moment to awaken 
and Mr. Cabana fled, telling Blair no landlord was 
required to refinish perfectly good floors—he was 
amused at her request. 



CHAPTER XVI 


“Mr. Cabana could be vamped,” Blair told Tony. 
“If I had drugged Beatrice, he might have made us 
storm windows.” 

Tony knew Cabana. “The old fox—did he know 
you had his number?” 

“I was out-Murieling Muriel. I must—if we’re 
to be comfortable. What sort of neighborhood is 
this? I’ve not thought very much about it—have 
you ?” 

They were enjoying the open fire before which 
Mr. Cabana would have liked to linger. 

“Ambitious bromides,” Tony answered, ‘‘gold 
fish or ferns in every den and a tapestry suite for the 
living room. I’ll not see much of them. Anyway, 
this is not a permanent home. What do we care? 
It is nice just to be alone yet not in the wilderness,” 
Tony was truly content. “Do you know, Blair, I’m 
still crazy about you?” 

Blair threw him a kiss and went on with her sew¬ 
ing. 


123 


124 


JUDD & JUDD 


“We grow happier as we go along, too. I lunched 
with Sterling today—he said they have bought a 
hundred and fifty foot frontage on the North Boule¬ 
vard and are going to build—Cabana is the con¬ 
tractor.” 

“Fancy Muriel! How she will ‘understand’ this 
great hearted hero!” 

“Ollie must plunge,” Tony insisted, “he gets 
money somehow—wish I could,” his eyes were 
strained and suggested discontent. 

“I wouldn’t trade places with Muriel.” Blair was 
not alarmed. “Would you with Oliver? Come, 
Tony, this doesn’t sound like the real you.” 

“I’d go the lead pipe limit if I ever started plung¬ 
ing,” he flung out. “If I ever grew discouraged with 
this even pace—and wanted things.” 

“Why, Tony, how foolish to waste time this way 
—when you’ve made me so very happy.” 

Tony reached over to take her hand. “Blair,” he 
began boyishly, his tone told her what he had to say 
was difficult, “would you be patient a little longer— 
say for a year or two—to help me get on? Oh, if 
you only knew how I hate to ask it.” 

“What do you mean? Of course I’ll be patient 
and trust you.” 

“About help—and extra money. You said things 


JUDD & JUDD 


125 


were so compact and convenient here that you could 
manage in half the time and-” 

“True—but I want to do personal things this win¬ 
ter—what is it dear, don’t keep me waiting?” 
anxious tears blurred her blue eyes. 

“Then here goes. I’m leaving the firm in Janu¬ 
ary to start for myself. I’ve a chance to borrow 
money and sell my stock. The combination gives me 
enough capital. I’m convinced now is the time. If 
only we can be economical in the home—it won’t 
be for long and, lovely, I’ll more than make it up 
to you when I get my stride.” He looked away 
from her as if dreading to see her mental 
struggle. 

The plan startled her—she did not feel that Tony 
was justified in leaving Carson and Scott. It was 
not quite fair to her—at just this time. 

“Prove your trust by helping me,” he begged, “I 
bank on it.” 

“I’m afraid,” she began, “I—I mean I’m so 
eager to—” 

“You mean you are not with me—you, who have 
always planned on my own agency where I could 
use my own methods?” He stood up in surprise. 
“You can’t object to keeping down the house ex¬ 
penses when I’m risking everything I have, assum- 



126 


JUDD & JUDD 


ing all the responsibility—I, a husband and a father 
—and wanting to make good just for you? Blair, 
are you sure you realize all this means ?” 

Blair laid her head on his shoulder as if unwilling 
to hear her own surrender. At this turning point 
in her husband’s career, she must put aside personal 
desires. 

“I’m with you,” she said in a muffled tone, “you 
must count this very dress as my premature Christ¬ 
mas present.” 


Blair’s surrender of personal desires was like 
tropical twilight, where the brilliant afternoon sun 
dims and night takes its place—without any interval 
of tender pinks and lingering blues. Blair became 
fanatical on the subject of being square with one’s 
husband. She dissembled to her friends on the rare 
joy of sacrificing for one’s family. After the first 
flush of gratitude, Tony became careless of what 
Blair’s economy entailed. He was indifferent to her 
lack of outside interests save as they concerned him¬ 
self. His love was a loyal, limited emotion—after 
all, Blair had become the youthful personification of 
his aunt’s devotion. 

Blair had abandoned intimacy with her neighbors. 


JUDD & JUDD 


127 


They were perfectly good people but there was 
nothing in common in the world of ideas. Blair 
termed them the “daddy-women”—small, sharply 
pretty persons or else the pale, helpless type, who 
never spoke of their husbands but always “our 
daddy” and who called their children “my kiddies”; 
with this re-naming of the family unit went a 
peculiar interpretation of the social scheme. They 
were afraid of the dark or to stay alone at 
night. They had never recovered from the terrors 
—and attentions—of childbirth. They exacted 
daily homage from “our daddies” for this superb 
feat. They adored candy, clothes, card clubs and 
Mr. Cabana. They boasted of his driving them 
home. They called him a naughty dear and said they 
would never tell “our daddies” how he squeezed their 
hands. They had washing machines, vacuum clean¬ 
ers and other modern appliances enabling them to 
emerge by two in modish attire. They were con¬ 
tent to let “our daddy be brains enough for the 
family.” If “our daddy” was a college man this gave 
them added pride and coquettish self-abasement. 
Their homes were furnished according to the depart¬ 
ment stores’ best tastes. A brave rivalry as to flat 
silver, our daddies’ neckties and talking machine 
records existed. Every second Thursday, they had 


128 


JUDD & JUDD 


a neighborhood sewing club. Blair did not join the 
Stitchery but suggested a Monday reading club for 
contrast. This was vetoed, the consensus of opinion 
being that “Shakespeare was vulgar—and Monday 
our wash day.” They considered Blair a hi-brow 
who had to do her own housework. Besides, the 
Judds were only renting. 

Mr. Cabana’s visits had lessened when Blair met 
his wife and became somewhat friendly. Roxy came 
out but seldom, the hill was too bad for her four 
cylinder. Aunt Agnes came faithfully but Blair 
was constantly apprehensive lest she hurt the older 
woman by modernism, criticism of Tony’s new de¬ 
parture. She found herself stale, re-living her col¬ 
lege past, just as Aunt Agnes lived over her girl¬ 
hood to everyone’s boredom. Blair was forced to 
exist on memories of when she had been a free agent 
—and her typewriter stood on her own desk. Some¬ 
times, she wished she could become a “daddy- 
woman,” she had a dreadful suspicion that Tony 
might have approved the change! 

Her son came. The professionally enthusiastic 
nurse had never seen a finer little boy but Blair, 
deaf to the praise, looked into her son’s blindish eyes 
and realized the years of exacting care which were 
his due and her duty. Then the confiding stir of 


JUDD & JUDD 


129 


her flannel bundled child kindled the strange, endur¬ 
ing flame of mother love and selfless ambition. 
Blair knew the odds were against her. Tropical 
twilight had given place to the long night! 


CHAPTER XVII 


When Blair’s son was four years and three 
months old, the long night ended. Tony, whose 
business had succeeded fairly well, neglected to keep 
his generous promises. He had taken for granted 
her position at home—the home of Judd and wife. 
Naturally, business was his chief concern even if it 
required him to go to Muriel Sterling’s to dinner. 
Oliver had asked in some important business men. 
He felt Blair always understood, bless her, she was 
never petty or nagging. He often wondered how 
she did things so well—his mind running back to 
Twilldo where cooking was barbarous but romance 
rampant. 

To Blair the long night seemed a period of being 
only a robot. Her bravest feat had been to set out 
tomato plants and tend them carefully, writing an 
article describing the process from the original cost 
to the destination of the last green tomato refusing 
to ripen in her kitchen window. She received five 
dollars for the article and snapshots with which 
130 


JUDD & JUDD 


131 

she bought an aluminum kettle and a book on rugs! 
She was amused at her diverse interests which 
doomed her to defeat. Tony was proud of the tom¬ 
ato venture. After telling the story a few times, it 
became a joint idea: “We wanted to see how well it 
would go!” 

The Sterlings, established in their new home, paid 
them scant attentions. Beatrice having reached a 
reasonable age, Muriel had taken her to drive, curled 
her soft hair, taught her sophisticated limericks to be 
recited before equally sophisticated friends. Blair’s 
objection to this had resulted in a coolness. Then 
came the invitation to Oliver’s stag dinner. 

“You know I disapprove of the Sterlings,” Tony 
had explained, “but I must meet Dennis Faxon—he 
owns a chain of grocery stores from here to Den¬ 
ver. Think what the advertising contract would 
mean! And I’m ready with ideas, too. This social 
introduction may lead to remarkable opportunities— 
no, not that tie, Blair—the little one. Beatrice, I’ll 
spank you if you touch my hat again—I thought you 
could be trusted! This house is not big enough to 
change your mind in-” 

“True,” echoed Blair as she banished Beatrice to 
a comer and undressed her son for his bath. 

Tony enjoyed the party, he admitted to Blair. 



132 


JUDD & JUDD 


The Sterlings knew how to do things. Muriel had 
looked in on them—she wore a stunning, green-gold 
affair and exquisitely matched pearls. He wished 
Blair would call on her—why have a coolness—she 
must be more cosmopolitan. (Was there a hole in 
the screen—how the flies came in!) After all, this 
was a great opportunity and he appreciated it— 
Faxon had seemed impressed. 

Blair pretended to fall asleep. But she was visu¬ 
alizing Muriel in her green-gold creation, insincere, 
wholly charming. She could picture Tony’s well 
groomed self as he paid her homage. And the pearls 
—that caused a sorry memory. A stray gust of 
vanity caused her to ask for a string of near pearls 
on a long ago birthday. Affable but prudent, Tony 
told her a hundred dollars was his limit and she must 
forego a number of concerts and lectures if she 
wished him to be ready to spend this amount. After 
weeks of harmful self-denial, Blair announced she 
would name each pearl “my Paderewski pearl” or 
“my current events lecture pearl” and so on, the 
result being a rosary of intellectual deprivations and 
a string of beads upon which her son cut his teeth 
—until she was forced to throw them away. Blair 
had “burnt the house to roast the pig.” 

She began counting the number of times, since 


JUDD & JUDD 


133 


they lived at the Bungahigh, that she had gone out 
with Tony socially. She could count—but why be 
numerically tragic, she asked in aimless self-com¬ 
munion? She raised herself on her elbow to watch 
Tony as he slept—and snored. But since it seemed 
inevitable that one must be something—why the 
family doormat? She dropped back on her pillow 
with a sense of shame at the complaining thought. 
A moment later, she reached over to brush Tony’s 
forehead with her lips, the same maternal spirit 
prompting the caress as made her slip in during the 
night to see if the children were properly tucked up. 

“You nice, selfish person,” she thought, “how can 
I make you understand ?” 


CHAPTER XVIII 


The Sterling dinner bore worthy fruit for Tony. 
He was given an opportunity to go to London as 
American advertising expert for a recently pur¬ 
chased line of food stuffs. These were in need of 
modern exploitation. The trip would take about 
three months, it was an opportunity no man could 
ignore. Tony knew how jubilant Blair would be 
over this good fortune, of course she could not come 
with him but he would bring her an armful of 
presents and later on, when he had his real home 
and a bank account which could be spoken of re¬ 
spectfully, he would take Blair and the children for 
a tour of the world. 

Blair was not as enthusiastic as Tony might have 
wished but his own exuberance of spirits prevented 
too critical analysis. She would miss him so much, 
he explained to himself, she was trying to be re¬ 
served, stoical. He would miss her—still, he would 
be among new and interesting backgrounds. 

“Don’t worry about us,” she said, when the time 
*34 


JUDD & JUDD 


135 


for leaving was near. “We will be quite all right. 
I’ll even promise to be pleasant to Muriel. We’ll 
write you for every steamer and wait for your com¬ 
ing back.” 

They might have been pals rather than husband 
and wife, this parting was such a dispassionate 
affair. Tony felt Blair ought to have cried—his 
aunt did! His father-in-law went to see him sail. 
The neighborhood was awed and curious, several of 
the “daddy-women” called to see how Mrs. Judd 
“was standing it.” Personally, they did not believe 
in long absences between man and wife—and Lon¬ 
don of all places! 

Blair was graciously uncommunicative. Only to 
Roxy and a few old friends had she hinted her own 
plans, secure in their approval. Aunt Agnes was 
divided between joy at Tony’s opportunity and fear 
of shipwrecks. Blair’s father told her she had a hus¬ 
band who never overlooked a good thing, he was 
glad Blair was such a sensible little soul. Together, 
the Judds were the wholesome sort that kept the old 
world wagging. 

Mr. Cabana called, after Tony had been gone a 
few weeks, to find Aunt Agnes had taken the chil¬ 
dren for the day and Blair was alone. Blair had 
been lelieved at the former’s departure. When Aunt 


136 


JUDD & JUDD 


Agnes was about, the entire atmosphere of her home 
was changed. Mother’s discipline and auntie’s in¬ 
dulgence were as oil and water. 

Mr. Cabana, whose wife was making an extended 
stay with vague friends, was more showily dressed 
than ever. His new car reeking of luxury and horse 
power, was parked in the drive. 

“You’re in luck,” he announced, bustling into the 
living room, “not every woman with a handsome 
husband rollicking about London and a homespun 
cavalier at her feet. So glad to have found you at 
home. You’ve been too formal with me for years 
—can’t let my girls treat me like that.” 

Blair fumed while Cabana decided she was nice 
enough looking, particularly her eyes and teeth, but 
she needed make-up and modish clothes. He could 
not abide women whose ankles were not silk encased 
and who lacked slippers with captivating buckles. 
Take Muriel Sterling—his thoughts becoming elo¬ 
quent. He did not know how to approach this self- 
sufficient young matron, being better adapted to the 
“daddy-woman” or elderly, sentimental souls. Had 
Blair been a more favored type, she would have 
heard his ill-bred confession of matrimonial wrongs. 
Instead, he plunged into the main topic. 

Would it not be wise for Miss Judd, charming 


JUDD & JUDD 


137 


woman, to sell her valuable, downtown property and 
come live with her nephew? Well he realized 
Tony’s brilliant prospects, he would be first to ex¬ 
tend the glad hand when they materialize. Didn’t 
Mrs. Judd think it time to move into a better neigh¬ 
borhood? Of course, in a stage whisper, this neigh¬ 
borhood was restricted and all that but the Judds 
were outgrowing it! It would be well for Tony 
Judd to own a smart place—say stucco on hollow 
tile or Dutch Colonial. Softly, let him explain. He 
was developing a handsome tract on the outskirts of 
the city, now was the time to buy while land was 
cheap. Nothing succeeded like signs of success. To 
have Judd return from London to this simple home 
—would it be good advertising? Why not leave 
the Bungahigh and let him build a new home, on 
ample terms, it could be as exclusive as the Sterl¬ 
ing’s—sweet little woman, Mrs. Sterling, was she 
not? 

Blair was forced to disclose her plans. Mr. 
Cabana left posthaste to inform the neighbors he 
did not know what was happening to civilization 
when women like Mrs. Judd left their homes to 
accept a position as secretary to the vice president of 
the Champion Knitting Mills. Nor was she intend¬ 
ing to get a divorce, either. Had Judd been bluffing 


138 


JUDD & JUDD 


about his success or was Mrs. Judd a discontented 
rebel ? He had talked to her like a father but it had 
been of no avail. Poor Judd, what a home-coming! 

If Mr. Cabana was amazed, Aunt Agnes was 
overwhelmed even if persuaded to be Blair’s unwill¬ 
ing aide-de-camp! For Blair saw no other way un¬ 
less Tony’s aunt would supervise her children’s care 
—at the first, anyway. She would pay her for this 
no matter how indignantly Aunt Agnes declared she 
would put the money “right back into the children’s 
banks.” 

As nearly as Aunt Agnes comprehended, Blair did 
not wish to give up her home any more than Tony 
would have wished doing. More than the money, 
she longed for independent interests, detached con¬ 
tacts such as Tony enjoyed in addition to his family 
life. These, she considered her right. She had 
taken a radical step since all reforms must be radical 
at the outset and gradually work back to the middle 
pasture. She was happy as Tony’s wife but she 
wanted to make him realize she could be other 
things. Roxy helped her to obtain the position which 
paid but twenty-two dollars a week. The money, 
Blair decided, would be used in paying Aunt Agnes 
and for her own lunches and incidentals. She would 
bring the children down town each morning and try 


JUDD & JUDD 


139 


to lunch with them at least twice a week. At five 
thirty, she would call and take them home for a 
light supper, which she would be able to prepare. 
She would have Saturday half holiday and all Sun¬ 
day at home. She would have her cleaning woman 
on Saturday and send the washing out. When Tony 
returned, he must adjust himself as she had had to 
do several times. When Tony’s aunt tried to look 
severe and ask how she could depend on weather in 
bringing and calling for the children, Blair fired an¬ 
other bomb. She had sold her sapphire ring to buy 
a modest sedan. This would be of pleasure to the 
family besides its business use. Her plans were 
irrevocable. No one had exclaimed overly much 
when Tony left his firm to start for himself—had 
not she an equal right? 

For lack of argument, Aunt Agnes cried and 
got out Tony’s baby pictures. She promised not to 
write him the news. Presently, she found herself 
rather satisfied at being in the saddle again, of 
definite use in the world. She had longed to feed 
and dress the children according to her own lights. 
She was almost sorry Beatrice went to kindergarten 
all the forenoon and left a lonesome but good- 
natured little brother to be amused. 

In the first flush of her venture, Blair realized 


140 


JUDD & JUDD 


something was wrong in sending her children to the 
person who had failed to educate Tony! That is— 
educate him to a proper realization of what share and 
share alike should mean. She, Blair, was sidetrack¬ 
ing that same task, bent on her own goal. 

At first, she had concluded, it had been a false in¬ 
terpretation of romance which was responsible for 
this useless submerging of women’s personalities, 
then, by force of economic and maternal stress, it 
became a habit—finally, hopelessness caused them 
to accept, even pretend to glorify the submerged 
state. 

But no woman ever gloried more than Blair when 
she saw herself in tailored suit and brave blue tie, 
her felt hat hiding the bright brown hair. She did 
not dare really “see herself” in this transformed 
state until, one Monday morning, she gazed into the 
speckled slit of a mirror in the asthmatic elevator 
which lifted her up, up, up to the vice president’s 
office of the Champion Knitting Mills. 

From now on, she told herself, it was to be Judd 
and Norcross! 


CHAPTER XIX 


Like an over zealous neophyte, the first days in 
the business world blinded Blair’s interest in Tony’s 
letters with his ardent plans for return. Once, he 
had written loverish letters planning her home-com¬ 
ing and she returned to find her house had been occu¬ 
pied by a cave man. 

She was not thrilled over his surprises which were 
to turn Muriel’s complexion green, Paris green, so 
Tony hinted. She was happy in a matter-of-fact 
way that he had stocked up with winter woolens and 
she was keenly curious to learn how he had made 
good in business. She was a trifle confused at hav¬ 
ing kept her new position a secret. She sent snap¬ 
shots and anecdotes of the children and when he 
wrote they could have a car this winter, she took a 
childish delight in knowing she would drive her 
sedan to the station. 

The rich, autumn calm was indicative of her 
■jnental state. She was dottbly punctilious and long- 


142 


JUDD & JUDD 


suffering with Aunt Agnes and the children, as if 
duty-bound to betray no impatience or disapproval 
no matter what happened. Before long, Blair found 
herself a sort of story book mother who never ceased 
smiling—and who was of uncertain calibre. She 
must not let the children grow away from her, she 
jealously reminded herself. She must be grateful to 
Aunt Agnes who made it possible for her to do this 
exhilarating thing. No matter if her son admitted 
to three bananas a day and Beatrice announced that 
if Aunt Agnes allowed them to do so and so, why 
did mother object—mother had told them to do 
everything Aunt Agnes said! Blair held reproof in 
check. She was pioneering, she explained to herself, 
during which frontier life there must be concessions 
and makeshifts as well as achievements. She had 
taken this drastic step with the sole incentive of 
her own self-preservation. She hoped she was no 
more selfish than other women, similarly circum¬ 
stanced—at least she admitted the selfishness or 
rather admitted that she had come to end of being 
selfless. Now that she had taken it—and learned 
to drive in traffic—she tried to gain a perspective 
and become aware of other forces. 

She knew the pussy-willow neighborhood awaited 
her defeat with eager, wifely hearts. They watched 


JUDD & JUDD 


143 


her sedan go roaring up the hill or brake on the en¬ 
gine going down. They shook their heads and said, 
“Our daddy would never permit it.” They whis¬ 
pered how the cleaning woman worked with more 
haste than thoroughness and how Blair baked and 
mended Sundays. From Saturday noon until Mon¬ 
day morning, Blair was a devoted, hectic mother 
and housewife. From Monday morning until Satur¬ 
day noon, she was Mrs. Blair Norcross Judd, a com¬ 
petent business employee. Her first pay envelope 
was as sacred as a medal for heroic behavior while 
under fire. 

When she did not lunch with the children, Roxy 
or others claimed her for a pleasant hour at the 
club or a vegetarian grill room. Here, they solved 
world problems and the proper length of skirts, de¬ 
bated as to art, real estate prices, politics, the im¬ 
personal interesting topics which had kept Tony light 
of heart and for lack of which Blair had grown 
bitter. 

Mr. Cabana bowed but stiffly these days, en¬ 
grossed with his new land development and obtain¬ 
ing a divorce on the grounds of desertion. The 
Sterlings were disapproving of Blair’s decision. 
Muriel expressed her views in unflattering terms. 
Tony was too good-looking not to have many girls 


144 


JUDD & JUDD 


glad to stay home and pretend to darn his socks. 
Therein lay Blair’s error—she had darned them. 

Blair’s first experiences in the business world 
were not all beer and skittles. Beyond the few 
months’ employment before her marriage, she had 
had no direct contact with the activities for which 
she longed. Secretly, Blair had hoped she would be 
recognized, without delay, as a master mind, unfairly 
sidetracked via the kitchen. When Tony returned, 
her career should be so unquestionably established, 
he would be overwhelmed and seek her co-operation. 
If this should be the case, Blair was prepared to be 
generous! 

The first day at the knitting mills eradicated any 
such ambitions. 

“I’m ready to take you through, Mrs. Judd,” she 
was told after she had finished a preliminary selec¬ 
tion as to typewriters, foot stools and had decided 
she must buy a personal drinking cup. 

Glancing up, Blair met the curious gaze of an 
Amazon type of woman dressed elaborately in the 
prevailing modes. 

“I’m Annette Blake,” she explained, as Blair 
waited for further explanation. “You’ll see enough 
of me before you have been here long. I used to be 
Annie Blake but I promoted myself. A.B. they 


JUDD & JUDD 


145 


call me—sounds like a degree, doesn’t it? Well, my 
college is the good old school of experience—and a 
little Irish ancestry. I’m forewoman of the sales 
department and if you don’t mind, I wish you’d come 
right along. I have a big day ahead.” 

A.B. was over forty and daring anyone to sug¬ 
gest the fact. She was a handsome, savage creature 
with pale, blue eyes and stiffly marcelled black hair. 
Her high cheek bones and strong, uneven features 
lent her a certain distinction which her brocaded 
henna frock and ankle length jade earrings suc¬ 
ceeded in destroying. Her beaded slippers would 
have been suitable for a ball room and she wore 
enough rings, real or otherwise, to warrant the office 
boy’s whisper of, “our Christmas tree.” 

“I’d enjoy going through the plant,” said Blair, 
“that’s the right idea, don’t you agree? You have 
a better understanding and conception-” 

“You can say it with flowers, if you want, or any 
way you like,” A.B. dismissed her answer airily, 
leading the way to the stock elevator at the rear. 
“I’ve shown so many greenies through—only to 
have the firm show them out the gate—it seems to 
me, it’d be as well if they waited until they’ve drawn 
a few pay envelopes. Ah, Rudolph Valentino,” as a 
grimy operator slowed up the elevator, “take us 



146 


JUDD & JUDD 


down to the basement and we’ll work our way back. 
Well, Rudolph, how are all the girls—oh, don’t tell 
me you’re not strong for them. I saw you at the 
Center Street Strand last night—with that flurry 
of curls—you tell that to the camels—,” she winked 
at Blair, amazed at the lack of reciprocation. 
“Hullo, Terry,” as the elevator stopped at a lower 
floor to admit a tow headed flapper in a gay, spotted 
frock of Normandy inspiration, “What’s wrong? 
Been crying?” 

“Oh, I’ve been up before the boss,” admitted 
Terry, “not that I care—I can quit when I like and 
not have to omit my pie a la mode, either! But what 
gets me is to be jumped on when the others skate by. 
It is very different when Arline Robson or Miss 
Williams, some of those educated snobs, that 
wouldn’t wear an after-dinner ring, make a mistake 
—oh, perfectly excusable, yes, indeed,” imitating 
the polite employer, “they are college girls—getting 
experience—dear me! Well, I’d like to know what 
difference that makes; but because I come in here 
right from grammar school to work my way up—• 
every time I do some little thing like getting the 
date wrong or not being on the job at the switch¬ 
board, I’m on the witness stand in my own behalf_ 

my Gawd, I wisht I never tried business, I’d have 


JUDD & JUDD 


147 


been further ahead standing behind a counter and 
letting someone else make the change. I get off here 
—the treasurer wants me to help him count the petty 
cash on hand—goodbye, A.B.—you look Swell to¬ 
day.’' 

Two shipping clerks, pinch back coats and all, 
were getting on the elevator while Terry was re¬ 
ceiving Miss Blake’s condolences. They stared at 
Blair curiously. 

“This is the vice president’s new secretary,” Miss 
Blake volunteered. “Mrs. Judd, this is Claude Tile 
and Oscar Bright and whoever named them knew 
their business. Hi, Rudolph, let us off here—can’t 
you remember this long? I’m not going into the 
basement this morning-” 

“You said so,” grunted Rudolph, “six stories 
back.” 

“I said nothing of the sort,” A.B. led the way 
into a narrow hall, “that man’s brain will never suf¬ 
fer from enlargement—look out for your clothes, 
Mrs. Judd—but I guess they aren’t the spoiling 
kind-” 

Blair was following through a labyrinth of turns 
and corners, A.B. rattling on volubly: “I suppose 
you’d like to know what everything is for and who 
said so—well, you can’t prove much by me. I’ve 




148 


JUDD & JUDD 


been here so long, I’m ready to fade out the first real 
chance I’m offered. You get pretty stale and one 
sided if you stick in business or a mill for over 
twenty years. I’m admitting a lot when I say that.” 

Intrigued by her own affairs, A.B. paused in a 
hallway before entering the first receiving station 
of the raw materials. “I want to tell you that I know 
this business from a to z —now, I don’t mean any¬ 
thing personal,” her pale, blue eyes searching Blair’s 
face, “but I never have had much use for college 
women.” 

“Sorry,” said Blair—rather amazed at her own 
timidity before this dominant, yet unimportant per¬ 
son. 

“Oh, I know something rough was pulled off at 
your house to make you leave everything and take a 
job,” A.B. conceded nobly, “and I’m for you as far 
as that is concerned. You can count on me for sym¬ 
pathy. If I seem sort of rough, it is because I 
fought my way up single handed—bare knuckles, 
too. There isn’t an old timer around here who 
wouldn’t bear me out.” 

“That is mighty interesting,” Blair was happy 
the conversation had taken a less personal tone. 

“Sometime I’ll tell you a story that would stagger 
most anybody. I’ve seen a good many things happen 


JUDD & JUDD 


149 


in these mills—good and bad. Nobody could ever 
pay me to keep my mouth shut. Before the union 
was strong, I could call a walk-out and everybody 
knew I could.” 

“Tell me, did you ever get into argument with 
capital and have them see your side?” Blair asked, 
“I mean really see it—not an enforced compro¬ 
mise?” 

“Oh, I haven’t much use for capital but, some¬ 
times, I haven’t much for labor, either. The whole 
thing seems to me to be a wet fish that just has to 
slap the public in the face every so often. That’s 
because I’m fed up on being in the same job for 
years. I’ve saved money and been sensible but I’m 
not sure it gets you very far. I got a front room 
with an alcove at a good boarding house and more 
clothes than I have clothes hangers for. But that 
isn’t what counts—I know—that’s why I’m sorry for 

you-” They were rounding a dark, narrow 

corner. The monologue was temporarily discon¬ 
tinued. 

Blair hoped they would emerge into a room of 
mill hands but, instead, they arrived at large, barn¬ 
like doors through which trucks were driven. 

A.B. resumed the all-absorbing topic. “I’ve had 
a good many chances to marry and some chances 




JUDD & JUDD 


150 

to have pretty tall fun. But I never considered the 
last for a moment. And when I thought the others 
over, I could see the finish. No matter what big 
wages a good mechanic gets, I’d have to wrap my¬ 
self around the wash tubs and worry about the 
seven children having winter shoes. His wages 
would be just so much and no more—and you 
have to count on strikes and accidents—and rows! 
I’ve seen it so often, I congratulate myself on never 
falling for it . . . yes, this is the entrance where 
the stuff comes in—all waps driving the trucks 
these days—a regular little Italy, isn’t it—see the 
little fellow fussing around with the back tires of 
that big truck—he is a wonder. Everyone knows 
he does the work of two men—so he gets the pay 
of one and a quarter! Liberty and justice for all,” 
A.B. waved an enthusiastic arm. 

Blair followed as they passed fire proof doors 
before which watchmen dozed. A.B. called each 
one by name, adding some horse-play comment or 
caustic joke. “That big guy with the plaid cap on 
is one of the best operators they have—they know 
it but he doesn’t. He has five children and his 
wife’s had to go into the mountains for t.b. 
They raised him a few months ago but he didn’t 
file any income tax return because he knew his ex- 


JUDD & JUDD 


151 

emptions would let him out of payment. So he 
didn’t see why he had to file the return—you know, 
he’s shy of reading and writing jobs. And do you 
know, they fined him five dollars! Hear the eagle 
scream—no, this way—there’s nothing new there, 
that machine grinding up the waste paper makes a 
devil of a racket-” 

Up a flight of stairs and A.B. paused to supple¬ 
ment her life history. “As for marrying men in 
the office—well,” shrugging her wide, thin shoul¬ 
ders, “they never saw it that way. No use kidding 
yourself beyond a certain point—I wasn’t edu¬ 
cated! Say, tell me—I never got any of you ac¬ 
complished skirts cornered before—just what does 
this education business do to you?” 

Blair hesitated. She felt absurdly inadequate 
and embarrassed. “You are educated—so am I— 
we have different fields-” 

“Oh, I’ve heard that in my dreams—they hand 
us that at the community house where they adver¬ 
tise that everything is free and equal—and then 
draw one of those invisible lines between the 
'washed and the unwashed’—different! Maybe I 
am. I know I get as much out of life as some of 
these hostesses and directors’ wives—I wear my 
best clothes to the office—I dress for myself not 




152 


JUDD & JUDD 


for business. I won’t take to a uniform,” with a 
scornful eye at Blair, “and go home to look at my 
glad stuff hanging in a clothes press for the moths. 
I encourage all my kids to dress their bravest—be 
as fine as the cat’s cuffs. It helps them stand the 
days they spend here. I don’t know about books 
but I know human nature and business isn’t so 
much different from home life, when you get down 
to cases. You can get stale here mighty easy—I 
don’t blame my kids for getting all the fellows they 
can and going out for jazz and shows. The homely 
ones that can’t go out are always poor workers or 
bums. You can’t make people too much like ma¬ 
chines without staging an awful comeback. Here 
are the storerooms—oh, I wonder how many more 
times I’ll have to take people through, people that 
never will come down here again. Why, you, for 
instance, will spend the rest of your life upstairs, 
taking letters and answering phones and doing the 

high class stunts. Now what good-” 

“But I want to understand what I’m about. It 
is like running a house,” Blair felt she must not 
appear too much a nonentity, “you cannot order 
your maids unless you know what they are doing 
and why. They would fast enough discover your 
lack. Business is the same, to do-” 



JUDD & JUDD 


153 


Say, Mrs. Judd, I hope he has to pay well for 
the children,” A.B. interrupted, “when I heard you 
were coming, I says, ‘Girls, there’s another good 
reason why Annette Blake has stayed Annette 
Blake. She may be lonesome and end her days in 
an old folks’ home—but she won’t have to tell the 
judge her troubles’—well, you won’t find this a 
hard office, they are pretty decent in a lot of ways. 
They won’t ask questions. Why, we had a man on 
trial for manslaughter and, as he was out on bail, 
he kept right along here as if nothing was out 
of whack. After his acquittal, the firm had the 
good taste not to congratulate him. A few of us 
gave him a sleigh ride—but we were personal 
friends.” 

“I am not divorcing my husband,” said Blair 
suddenly. “He is in London on business and I am 
looking forward to his return. I owe it to you to 
say I am not in need of any sympathy. I wished 
to do something besides my house work because,” 
when she came to putting it into words, her case 
seemed flimsy, Annette Blake quite like one of the 
“daddy-women.” 4 T was trained for business and, 
after a good many years of staying home, I felt 
I-” 

“Oh, you are taking a job away from some 


154 


JUDD & JUDD 


f woman who might need it,” summarized Miss 

Blake bluntly. “You're that sort—want your cake 
and eat it, too. We’ve had those before. I might 
add, they usually end before the judge in spite of 
themselves. A man can’t stand too much—here is 
the damaged goods room, we have mill end sales 
out of this stock and some of it is pretty good. I 
conduct the factory sales, so the pick of things are 
all gone before the public gets the rest. This way 
—” her interest in Blair became hostile. 

They finished the tour without further discus¬ 
sion. It was an abbreviated tour. Miss Blake 
wanted to spread the news a firebrand was among 
them. Blair went back to her office to confront her 
employer. He was a mild, white haired gentleman, 
a heavy stockholder and a light weight influence in 
the concern. Usually, he came to business late and 
was called for by his wife or daughter about three. 
His father-in-law had been a former vice-president 
of the United States, upon which connection rested 
his dignity. Many of his letters were concerned 
with his personal hobby—old books. Today, he 
was bent on the trail of an original edition with 
John Leech illustrations. He was eloquent in his 
dictation of a letter which offered his London agent 
a generous sum for the purchase of the same. 


JUDD & JUDD 


155 


After he finished this, he removed his reading 
glasses and stared at Blair. 

“You are interested in advertising, I believe ?” 
he said carelessly. 

Blair told him she was, she hoped to work into 
advertising work in the mills if there should prove 
a vacancy. She had several theories- 

“Now—to Mr. Albert Livingston, 940 Madison 
Avenue, New York City—Dear Mr. Livingston 
—I am prepared to offer you one hundred dollars 
for the 1876-77 Aldine Art Portfolio, if the same 
be in excellent condition and with the understand¬ 
ing-” 

For the second time, personal desires crowded 
impersonal work off the stage. 

The vice president required at least two hours for 
lunch. Perhaps he had a vague shame at leaving 
his secretary without any routine work. He gave 
her a catalogue of the fall goods and asked her to 
copy it in part. Selecting a pet walking stick, he 
remarked that it was a fine day and rang for his 
car. 

Blair copied the catalogue aimlessly. She hoped 
no one else would come in to ask if she was un¬ 
happy with her husband or suggest she was unfair in 
cheating someone else out of a living wage. She 



JUDD & JUDD 


156 

had been unprepared for this personal angle of her 
position. She had built up, so she admitted, an 
ideal of a business world into which she should en¬ 
ter, cheered and appreciated. She was discovering 
that she was in as individual a situation as when 
she stayed home. 

The office boy and a filing clerk came in to en¬ 
joy the New York papers and borrow some pencils. 
They made slighting remarks about the vice presi¬ 
dent’s uselessness, glancing at Blair with curious 
eyes. 

“Any time I’d sink a fortune in old books,” said 
the filing clerk, “do you know he paid three thou¬ 
sand dollars for a copy of the laws of early Massa¬ 
chusetts? What does that get him?” 

“He’s considered a human book catalogue,” ban¬ 
tered the office boy, “an authority on first editions 
—could you tell what was what right off the bat?” 

“Certainly—watch me,” taking a glass of mineral 
water and pointing at the world’s almanac, “Little 
Lord Fauntleroy, if my eyes do not deceive me— 
by Miss Beatrix Fairfax, illustrated by Sir Walter 
Scott—soldier’s edition—fifty marks.” 

Giggling, they left the office, Blair wondering 
If their opinion of the vice-president’s new secretary 
would be as pertinent. 


JUDD & JUDD 


157 


After a few weeks, Blair’s work became less me¬ 
chanical due to the vice president’s providential trip 
south, during which his secretary had to be occu¬ 
pied. Blair’s chance to show her interest in the ad¬ 
vertising department came to the fore. She was 
entrusted with getting out a spring sports wear 
list and by the time the vice president returned, she 
was too valuable to return to his book-lined office. 
Another secretary was found for him and Blair 
given a desk in the ante room adjoining that of 
the advertising manager. 

Annette Blake spoke haughtily whenever they 
met. The little girl named Terry had married a 
fellow clerk. The majority of the office force were 
a trifle distant towards Blair, some were afraid of 
her, others resented her being married yet work¬ 
ing, a few insisted she “was holding out on the 
truth.” The men disapproved yet admitted her 
ability. She had had occasion to meet one or two 
of Tony’s associates—it had been somewhat awk¬ 
ward to appear that she was doing a logical thing. 

But her paramount reaction was that romance, not 
self preservation or development, was the all-en¬ 
grossing topic. There was not a girl in the mills 
from machine operator to secretary who was not 
eager to be in a home of her own. “Everyone 


i5» 


JUDD & JUDD 


wants a sheik,” as one of them told Blair during a 
stormy lunch hour when they sent out for sand¬ 
wiches. “It is the way things always are. You 
don’t know how tired I am of this office, a raise 
in salary always throws a scare into me. I’m afraid 
I’m getting so competent I’ll end like Annette Blake 
—well paid—but who’d want to trade places? She 
never got a bid for anything—the men treat her 
like one of themselves. It is the ones who can’t 
spell and always cry if anyone calls them that have 
the beaux—why is it, Mrs. Judd?” 

Blair shook her head. “I thought I understood 
a lot of things when I came here,” she said, “but 
I’m finding out to the contrary.” 

“They wonder about you,” the girl ventured in 
shy friendliness, “it’s a risk to tell people things that 
other people say about them—unless they are 
straight boosts. But you are so pleasant I-” 

“Do tell me,” asked Blair, “I want to know what 
they say.” 

“Half think you are dead wrong to work as long 
as you got a husband to support you—and they all 
say he is a nice fellow, too. They think you are 
queer because—well, you seem so serious and the 
advertising manager told the president you ought to 
have more money. I was in the office supposed to 


JUDD & JUDD 


159 


be doing some extra typing, that’s how I know. 
The other half are sorry for you—please don’t be 
hurt, they think you are covering up something 
that is wrong about your marriage and-” 

“Do none of you?” demanded Blair, stung into 
protest, “understand I want to exercise my brain 
as well as a carpet sweeper ? That I have a soul 
above a frying pan and I want even the finest hus¬ 
band in the world to realize it and share his in¬ 
terests—that the only way I could prove this was to 
have an impersonal testimony—” she paused, lest 
she become a self-revealing, self-centered Annette 
Blake. 

The little girl shook her head. “Maybe so—but I 
told you what I heard.” 

The firm, per se, were unconcerned with the per¬ 
sonal problems of this new employee. They were 
interested solely in her ability. No doubt, they 
saw to it 'that their wives remained at home, paying 
their bills and buying diamond bar pins the width 
of their limousine doors. They told Blair they 
would advance her the first of the year and one of 
them asked if she was any relation to Anthony Judd, 
formerly of Carson and Scott and now in business 
for himself? When she admitted she was his wife, 
the member of the firm almost apologized for his 



i6o 


JUDD & JUDD 


question and rushed off under the impression that 
he had read something about the Judd divorce. 

Most annoying of all was a young Slav, Leon 
Caspar, who had recently become a shipping clerk 
and Blair’s slave. Leon fulfilled his duties because 
he was forced to surrender weekly roubles to a 
mercenary landlady. His real life, he boasted, was 
one of romantic phantasy in which he fancied he 
could be poet laureate (and treasurer) of the uni¬ 
verse. He wrote insufferable free verse and six 
and seven act tragedies where everyone of virtue or 
ideals met with untimely, diabolical deaths. Leon 
prided himself on being a radical red and inhaling 
cigarettes. “That congenital hick kids himself 
around the whole course,” was the head shipping 
clerk’s comment. 

Leon was not half as deadly as he tried to believe 
himself. He was a fairly intelligent, underbred 
fool imbued with self pity due to an unhappy child¬ 
hood in the foreign quarter of New York City. 
Having applied himself at night school until com¬ 
petent to become obnoxious at all public debates, he 
had periodic fits of melancholia during which he 
threw out dark hints of ending his life or being 
martyr in some needed bomb-throwing expedition. 
Whenever he confided this to Blair, she insisted he 


JUDD & JUDD 161 

was bilious and sent him away with pepsin tablets 
and firm advice. 

Leon fancied Blair, being married yet a wage 
earner, must harbor tragedy in her heart. Instant¬ 
ly, he wrote a new tragedy embodying these ideas. 
He was ludicrously faithful in such services as pen¬ 
cil sharpening, purloining the president’s footstool, 
ringing for the elevator, bowing her in and out of 
the same. 

Highly amused, Blair did not take him seriously. 
Occasionally, she allowed him to come along for 
lunch where they met Roxy and Leon glowered be¬ 
cause he was denied the chance for bombastic mono¬ 
logues. When Blair told him her husband would 
come home the next Friday and she was to take the 
day off, he turned sulky and impolite and threatened 
to go and live at a socialistic colony in the Canadian 
wilds. Blair was unimpressed by this calf love— 
she told herself Tony would be amused. When 
Leon begged for some trifle as a keepsake, before 
he left for the colony, she presented him with a 
wornout typewriter ribbon and jeered at his at¬ 
tempted tragic response. 


CHAPTER XX 


Tony s train came in at three in the afternoon. 
All morning, Blair worked arranging the house 
even to cut flowers and preparing his favorite des¬ 
sert, the children dressed in gala attire and remain¬ 
ing with Aunt Agnes at the Bungahigh while Blair 
drove to the station. 

She was not conscious until she stood at the train 
gateway that she had forgotten to dress in other 
than her everyday costume. Someway, she felt con¬ 
fused, as one does coming to dinner to find every¬ 
one else in formal togs. Still, Tony did not care 
ahout clothes, Blair thought, as the train disgorged 
its passengers and a happy faced, tall man swung 
down the line, stopping to take her in his arms. 

When Blair and Tony were at last free to talk, 
the family re-union consuming the rest of the day, 
a heavy silence followed as if neither wished to 
broach the subject of Blair’s new work. Tony had 
had no time alone with his aunt, since Blair drove 
her home to allow him to frolic with his children. 


JUDD & JUDD 


163 

Purposely, Blair kept the general conversation con¬ 
cerned with his trip and its gratifying results. She 
made him out a roaring lion from the time they 
reached the Bungahigh until he kissed his children 
goodnight and admitted what a deceptive thing an¬ 
ticipation was! Truly, he was relieved these human 
interrogation points of his were due to subside. He, 
who fondly pictured his return, telling them stories, 
joining in their play, wanted to be alone—with that 
selfish freedom of a hotel guest who closes the door 
upon the world whenever he likes and rings for ice 
water. 

Tony’s abrupt opinion when he learned Blair was 
in business, triumphant over her success, was that 
she needed a certain sum of extra money and felt she 
could not ask her husband for the same. He could 
not conceive of her carrying out any drastic pro¬ 
gramme for an indefinite time. Being Blair’s hus¬ 
band, this fact in itself would have weight in causing 
her to remain at home upon his return. Women 
could not have a career and a home, that age-old 
fallacy was not to be transformed into fact by one 
Blair Norcross Judd. He wished he had persuaded 
her to send the children to Aunt Agnes and come 
across with him. He was intolerant of any tolerance 
regarding the former issue. If there were exceptions 


164 


JUDD & JUDD 


to this law, he was unaware of them. What a 
blasted way of welcoming a man back from nearly 
four months abroad. How casual seemed his of¬ 
ferings of Paris lingerie and London tweeds. He 
felt cheated—an Enoch Arden peeking in the win¬ 
dow to find his wife at a typewriter! 

He wondered what his aunt thought—had she 
tried to dissuade her? He was curious to know 
whether Blair’s father knew and approved of this 
new state of affairs. How spoiled his children 
seemed, he could have committed his daughter to 
a dungeon for the way she interrupted and his son 
was a howling tease. 

The Bungahigh seemed stuffy, cheap after the 
mellowed, old-world backgrounds. He had out¬ 
grown it. (So had Blair.) He waited impatient¬ 
ly until he heard the garage door close and Blair, 
rosy cheeked and expectant, tossed off her wraps 
and said: 

“It is so nice to see you in your particular arm¬ 
chair, Tonibus—let’s forget there is a tomorrow 
morning and juvenile alarm clocks. Isn’t it for¬ 
tunate I found the little girl to do the dishes? I 
suppose I owe you an apology—I meant to dress up 
like a boo’ful lady but I was rushed getting every¬ 
thing else done. Want me to go and change now?” 


JUDD & JUDD 165 

she leaned back in her chair with a distinctly 
weary gesture. 

Don’t bother,” conscious he was making a 
sulky, unsatisfactory impression. He lit a cigar. 
For a moment, they watched the fire crackle and 
glow. Tony took advantage of the cigar’s loose 
wrapper to swear and discard it. He decided not 
to smoke. He wished Blair would begin—surely, 
explanations were due him. What could she ex¬ 
pect him to say? 

“We ought to begin talking,” Blair finally sug¬ 
gested, “it is after ten and I have so many ques¬ 
tions. I can never hear enough about your trip. 
More and more, I realize what a golden opportunity 
it has been—you’ll reap innumerable benefits for 
a long time to come. And you have only told me 
scraps about Polly and Bill—is their house so 
wonderful? Are they truly content? Have they 
changed ?” 

“Yes—yes—and yes—to all three questions. 
Their house is splendid,” this gave him a favorable 
lead, “it has a charming, old fashioned garden with 
clipped hedges and live oaks wearing rosettes of 
mistletoe in their hair. Polly is a picture when she 
is cutting her roses. The house is quite old and 
Polly has had the good sense not to change even 


166 


JUDD & JUDD 


the dingy things. I’d like to spend a summer in it. 
Polly lends herself to the atmosphere, she makes 
you feel a sliding panel and a ghost walk are part 
of the household goods. They are very happy in 
London and Polly is a marvellous wife. She has 
helped Bill socially—he was a trifle clumsy. 
But Polly has seen to that—she has dragged him 
out to meet all sorts of smart people. She devotes 
herself to Bill and her home-” 

“Polly has never been without servants.” Blair 
watched the fire, her face suggesting a frown. 

“Of course, everyone has them over there. But 
Polly has to see that they do their bit. Her social 
duties take a lot of time, too—but she goes into it 
seriously because she knows how it helps Bill.” 

The frown changed to a whimsical smile. “In¬ 
teresting,” was the demure comment. 

Tony was restless under this verbal sparring. 
He plunged into the main subject without further 
reserve. “Why didn’t you write me about—it?” 

“Because I felt ‘it’ was a venture and I was un¬ 
certain of its success.” She was equally abrupt. “I 
wanted the chance to prove myself to myself—no 
letter could have made you understand—” 

“Understand what?” 

“Don’t be impatient,” she was gently serious. 



JUDD & JUDD 


167 


“Men seldom comprehend what it means to go 
mentally stale. Neither would I, perhaps, if I had 
not been taught the sort of things which cannot 
tolerate staleness.” 

“Of course men go mentally stale—you can go 
stale ruling Wall street as easily as you can darn¬ 
ing socks,” Tony flung in impulsively. 

“At first I thought our marriage an ideal ar¬ 
rangement,” Blair paid no attention to the interrup¬ 
tion, “then I thought it a necessary one—now, I 
see it has been unfair. I believed your success 
should justify my stagnation. The more I tried 
to efface myself, the more you let me. Finally, you 
took it as a matter of course, a duty—a privilege. 
Because of the children, it was up to me to endure 
the years when their claim on me was paramount. 
Nor am I regretting nor resenting those years, it is 
all part of motherhood. Only, Tony, you did not 
realize what was happening.” 

“I think I did—I think I appreciated how splendid 
you were, how well you carried on—what an in¬ 
centive you were for me—I wish you wouldn’t talk 
as if I had been a wooden-manikin stalking in and 
out at meal time and ignoring everything and 
everybody but my wishes and myself.” 

“I don’t mean to talk that way,” Blair corrected, 


JUDD & JUDD 


168 

“I mean to say that things simmered into an un¬ 
fair routine in which you took the credit and I did 
the carrying on. Your home training—believe me, 
I speak without bitterness—was the training which 
causes this confusion and hubbub of women’s rights 
and extreme, often futile efforts to obtain more 
than a fair share of them. You considered your¬ 
self lord of creation—very good. But I am lady 
of creation, not milord’s handmaiden! As long as 
we were engrossed in boy and girl romance, it never 
became an issue. We were unconscious of the 
deeper, disturbing factors which were doomed to 
come to light.” 

“Blair—please,” he protested with angry unrest. 

“Wait. I took up the darning basket and then 
the cradle, those tools were my duty as well as 
my wish but they were new tools—did you ever 
help me with them? No. You were occupied in 
using the same impersonal tools I, too, had 
been taught to use. And therein, it was unfair. I 
don’t mean you should have stayed home to help do 
womanish things, furnish cartoonists with mate¬ 
rial. A woman must care for her home, her family. 
A man must take care of them financially. But 

“But what—what?” he said with grudging im- 


JUDD & JUDD 169 

patience. He was striking matches only to blow 
them out with meaningless extravagance. 

You should have taken a certain responsibility 
upon yourself. You were fond of stating I had 
been your classmate—but did you really under¬ 
stand that, because of being your classmate, I 
might long for some definite interest along the lines 
of my training? Did you realize that my mental 
continuity was being shattered by being thrust into 
housework and child bearing and that my nerves 
would have to pay the price ? It was your duty to 
have helped me keep this continuity rather than 
camouflage its destruction by pseudo-romance. ,, 

“How could I? How can any man? Blair, 
you’ve done some marvellous thinking since I left 
you!” Tony stood up, pacing up and down the 
room, pausing before he turned a corner to look 
at his handsome, indignant image in the pier glass. 

“By an attitude of mind, you could have made 
me feel more satisfied and logical than all your 
trinkets and tenderness. You should have realized 
that home is, truly, the center of one’s affections but 
not the limitations of one’s interests, your wife 
having the right to this same truth. You should 
have realized the tragedies thick about us these 
days—untrained, middle aged women with grown 


170 


JUDD & JUDD 


families who turn, oftentimes, to excessive religion 
or invalidism as a means of self expression. A man’s 
finest work is done from fifty years on—the world 
seldom appoints a younger man to positions of trust 
or honor. But what of women? I mean the 
married women who start all too late to express their 
impersonal abilities. Oh, it becomes a joke and a 
sob all in one!” 

“A woman cannot have—” he began thickly. 

“Negation is what we want to stop, we want af¬ 
firmation. The world needs the work of such 
women. Talk of needing man power—think of 
the woman power we lose, think of her valuable 
contributions to social problems. Who would be 
better fitted to do social and community work than 
the experienced, idealistic but no longer personally 
needed woman of middle age?” 

“Blair, Blair,” he protested—angry at his lack of 
argument. 

“Personality gets you across, true enough,” she 
insisted, “and I admit your personality is a powerful 
one because you have never allowed anyone to re¬ 
strict it. My personality could be powerful, too, but 
you have taken for granted it was to be a burnt of¬ 
fering to my husband! So I have had to be dras¬ 
tic,” she ended wistfully, “I have had to, Tony— 


JUDD & JUDD 


171 

don’t you see that when one is fifty, it is too late 
to start in with impersonal interests? Just as it is 
too early for a man to retire, to dismiss his world 
affairs? Instead, he is apt to redouble his efforts 
and reap his greatest success.” 

‘I must say you have worked out an elaborate in¬ 
dictment of masculine infamy,” Tony wondered 
whether ridicule might not be the wisest weapon. 

“Accuse me on any grounds you like—intellectual 
rebel, father complex, over activity of the thyroid 
gland, plain fool—I refuse to surrender my future, 
if we are to have a future together. Oh, sometime, 
young, educated women—emphasis on the young, 
say I—must train their families to this new vision. 
Then the job will be well underway. If homes are 
going to endure, they must be co-operative places in 
which all share and contribute and no one person is 
the sentimentalized prisoner who is released only 
when the march of progress has swept by her for¬ 
ever. No, I am not bitter,” as she read his unvoiced 
question. 

“You don’t love me,” he added quickly. 

“I do. I love my children—but I must be kind to 
myself.” 

“Just what is the mind state we head hunters have 
neglected to have—I don’t quite get it,” Tony de- 


172 


JUDD & JUDD 


termined to carry things off in a flippant manner. 
In a few moments, he would propose coffee and a 
chafing dish supper and he would tell the funny 
stories he heard at the week-end party Polly and 
Bill gave in his honor. He would dazzle Blair with 
his description of ruins, his tour of the Scottish 
lakes, his mild debauch in Paris. 

But she was answering quietly and with a cer¬ 
tain dangerous determination: “To marry without 
realizing your wife’s right to keep in touch with 
impersonal interests. Like yourself, she has the 
privilege to an anchorage in the outside world, to 
form her own estimates no matter how affluently 
you support her. Above all, you must understand 
—even desire—the time will come when she will de¬ 
velop her impersonal interests, after she fulfills her 
personal obligations. Is that so unfair? You can 
help her keep this viewpoint, help her have faith in 
herself. Oh, everything is relative—pain—love— 
careers. But every woman from Mother Eve to 
Beatrice Judd has or can have an individual view¬ 
point or talent for which the world would be the 
better and every husband from Father Adam to 
Anthony Judd junior has a conflict with himself 
before he will admit this and try to foster that talent. 
I’m sorry all this had to come up as soon as you 


JUDD & JUDD 


173 


came back—but I couldn’t have begun my own sal¬ 
vation unless you had gone away—so there,” Blair’s 
voice husky with emotion, trailed into an unsatisfac¬ 
tory ending. 

Tony stopped pacing about and went back to his, 
easy chair. He did not answer. 

She began a methodical round of locking up doors 
and drawing shades, concluding tasks of a house¬ 
keeper’s day. When she returned, Tony had gone 
into his bedroom and was unpacking furiously. 

Blair followed. She felt it might be wisest to 
ignore the conversation. 

“How about prices?” she asked by way of a 
polite interlude, “was there much difference—all 
told?” 

After a brisk discussion of prices, tipping, lack 
of central heating, Tony asked with amusing gravity 
whether she intended keeping the position very long. 

“Why—want to offer me one in your own of¬ 
fice?” 

“No. I wondered how much extra money you 
needed, enough to finish paying for your car?” 

Blair shook her head. “Poor Tony,” she mur¬ 
mured, “it is not your fault you misunderstand.” 

“Fault—what fault?” In his ire, Tony upset the 
box of collar buttons. 


174 


JUDD & JUDD 


Mercifully, Blair joined him in the floor hunt. 
Their heads came together unexpectedly as they 
pursued a last escaped stud. They found themselves 
kissing the other’s bumped forehead. 

“Oh, Blair, it is so good to see you,” Tony con¬ 
fessed. 

“Truly?” her eyes were the Chinese young-blue. 

“And I could not feel any other way if I returned 
to find you elected hangman,” he admitted boyishly. 
“I blame Roxy for a lot of this,” he kissed her 
again. 

Blair drew away. “Wrong. It is not Roxy. 
And I’m to have thirty dollars a week beginning in 
January.” 

“Blow the thirty dollars—I’m ready to take a 
chance at making good with capital letters. Let’s 
get a new house and a real car—you’ll be too busy 
to go to an office. I salaam before your brain—so! 
I’ll salaam morning and evening, if you like. How 
is that for a compromise?” 

“I’m too busy to think of a new house. I can’t 
unlearn the gear shifts of this car all in a moment, 
either. I don’t want you to salaam but share. I 
was patient and stood by when you asked me. Pay 
back. I have a fair system worked out about the 
children and house and I am not equal to any up- 


JUDD & JUDD 


175 


heaval. I’m taking on new work at the office and 
that is enough. By and by, you’ll realize I’m right, 
yes, you will—and we can come to an understand¬ 
ing. Ah, there is the collar button—see—under the 
chair-” 

“People will call me a spineless nonentity.” 

“A few men may because they’ll be afraid their 
wives might follow my example. Real people 
won’t. Besides, it is our own affair.” 

“Are you going to dress like Roxy?” he asked 
in mock alarm, “Blair, have a heart. Must I put 
a padlock on my collar and necktie drawer? Be¬ 
sides, if you expect me to do the ironing along with 
everything else, I’d never get through my work, 
honest, I couldn’t,” he put his hands on his hips 
and talked in a high, nasal tone. “It’s all so sud¬ 
den! Say, dearie, can I count on every Thursday 
night to go downtown and see the trains pass 
through?” 

Blair abandoned serious argument—but not 
ideas. 



CHAPTER XXI 


“I hate star witnesses, drilled beforehand by the 
prosecution/’ Blair told Tony when he tardily re¬ 
opened the subject of her new position. “You re¬ 
formers who want to point out the evil of your 
ways, always cite extreme cases which somehow 
dovetail too perfectly with bombastic theories. I 
wish you would stop calling my attention to 
wrecked homes, malnourished children. There is 
as much domestic havoc wrought by eloping butter¬ 
flies of mothers and unkind, unfit nursemaids as by 
we so-called feminists. But, cheer up, Tony, every¬ 
one else in the family is on your side—you can 
have a charming time receiving sympathy.” 

Blair was unflinching. No matter how Tony pro¬ 
tested, ridiculed, sulked, Blair held her position and 
kept up her domestic schedule with stoic endurance. 
It was too much for her, which she knew, but she 
refused to relinquish a fraction of dearly won in¬ 
dependence lest it result in annihilation. 

She had failed to make headway with her 
176 


JUDD & JUDD 


1 77 


original intention of entering the business field to 
prove to Tony she could do so, make him turn to 
her as a future partner, a stay-at-home partner for 
the greater share. The job she now held had al¬ 
lied her with the brainy minority, pushed her 
steadily into the foreground of a career. In no 
sense was she a half time worker, a substitute but 
an executive being who was learning to become 
immune to the personalities of commercial “muslin 
souls” as she was unimpressed by the bluff of 
“broadcloth breasts.” Blair realized, due to an 
incident at the beginning of January, there were 
times when she wished this to be otherwise. 

She had been asked to lunch by a commercial 
artist. The advertising manager deciding to join 
them, the trio selected a table window at a hotel 
dining room which soon revealed Tony lunching 
with a prospective customer and his wife. With 
conglomerate emotions, Blair recalled he had men¬ 
tioned the lunch that morning—it was to consum¬ 
mate a big deal, he hoped. But neither Blair nor 
Tony had estimated the reactions upon seeing the 
other as a business rival, in a sense, separated from 
personal or social ties. Blair, in her tailored outfit,, 
seated between the men, was busily talking of two 
and three color processes, looking over sample 


i 7 8 


JUDD & JUDD 


sketches, ordering extra coffee and determined not 
to glance at Tony’s table after the first casual view. 
Tony, well groomed and most attentive to the 
customer’s wife, had just recaptured her fallen 
handkerchief, looking over at Blair and then back 
at this expensively dressed woman, who accidental¬ 
ly invaded her husband’s lunch hour and was 
politely included in the invitation. She wore a 
corsage, Blair carried a brief case. She was keen to 
be off to a matinee—Blair had told him she had an 
appointment at two with a prospective copy reader. 
Then the commercial artists recognized Tony and 
bowed. 

“I heard your husband was after the Fellows 
contract,” he said to Blair, “looks as if he had it 
in the hollow of his hand. I wonder who he’ll get 
for the art work—jove, I’d like a look-in.” 

“Mr. Judd could do the thing awfully well,” 
Blair insisted, “I haven’t heard him name any 
artist—you might ask you yourself, if you like.” 

“Good looking wife of Fellows,” offered the gen¬ 
eral manager. “Good looking coat, too.” 

“Isn’t it,” murmured the artist who was engaged 
but too poor to be married, “well, that’s the way for 
a man to dress his wife but how many of us can?” 

The conversation threatened to become uncom- 


JUDD & JUDD 


179 


fortable. “Better make a sketch of Mrs. Fellows— 
you could use her type. I’m afraid these things 
aren’t what we want—oh, yes, that one, I’ll take— 
we have to impress the Sears-Roebuck strata and 
that combines the practical and-” 

But she was conscious of Tony’s rising to help 
the “good looking wife on with the good looking 
coat”—he was deferential and debonair to the ex¬ 
tent of making his guest feel she was, for the time 
being, the most important person in the world as 
far as he was concerned. Tony was wishing it was 
Blair he was helping into the moleskin and sending 
to the matinee. And Blair found herself longing 
for the luxurious wrap rather than this mottled 
tweed and a blouse which showed it was a third 
wearing. She was cheaply jealous, she told her¬ 
self, and hurt and amazed when Tony merely smiled 
over and followed his guests out of the room. 
Purposely, she called for a return of the pastry 
tray—she wanted Tony and his party to be well on 
their way before she arose. 

When Tony came home that night, Blair had re¬ 
mained in her business dress from a ridiculous 
sense of not playing up to her husband. 

“Did you get the Fellows contract?” she asked 
without delay. 



i8o 


JUDD & JUDD 


“I did,” kissing the children and then his wife’s 
left ear lobe. “Did you fire that fool of a Masters? 
I wouldn’t use a drawing of his on a bet.” 

“I bought a quaint sketch—and we have other 
plans,” she said mysteriously. “I think he has 
splendid ideas.” 

“You mean eyes.” Tony was longing to express 
his disapproval at her lunching nonchalantly with 
two men, two strangers. When his guests asked 
who she was, he had been obliged to say, “My 
wife.” 

“Did you enjoy your lunch?” he asked finally. 

“Very much—did you?” Blair would not yield 
a point. 

“No and you know why. You looked awfully 
shabby, Blair—I can’t help telling you. It 
seemed so wrong to have you sitting there . . . 
when Mrs. Fellows knew you were my wife, she 
was polite and all that but she thought something 
had happened between us. Hang it, everyone thinks 
that.” 

“Hang it, they do,” echoed Blair, “and if they 
keep on, they’ll make something happen. Is there 
no one in the world capable of believing that-” 

“I don’t know just what it is but there is no one 
capable of believing it, I assure you,” said Tony 



JUDD & JUDD 


181 


grimly. “I could have gone over to that table and 
snatched you up in my arms and carried you, kick¬ 
ing, scratching—biting if you like—to a cab. I 
can t share you, Blair—don’t ask me to do it.” 

And if you won’t share yourself,” she retorted, 
“what then?” 

I share all I can—besides, you can’t keep up 
this gait it s a losing game the way you have 
started in you’ll give out through sheer loss of 

vitality. You’re emotional, as you should be_ 

and things will get to a pass some day where you’ll 
run away from them—back to me.” 

“Never.” 

Blair! Have I ever tried to deny you anything 
within reason—can I, without warning, be asked 
to upset tradition, conventions-” 

I m patient with you, Tony,” she interrupted, 
“because you don’t understand—therefore, I can¬ 
not blame you wholly. But we’ll keep on—you and 
I—until you understand or I smash. I’ll never 
give up.” 

"If wh at you mean is that I’m to ask you to be 
partner in my business, that will never happen,” he 
told her shortly, “I could never do it. I don’t see 

the reason for your expecting it-” 

"All right—then let’s keep on as we are. I’d 



JUDD & JUDD 


182 

rather lose your love and gain your hard headed 
respect, as much as it would hurt me. I did not 
realize what this would mean when I took that posi¬ 
tion. If I had realized, I doubt if I would have 
ventured forth—I’ll concede that much. But since 
I’ve ventured—I’ll not turn back.” 

All winter, Blair worried over the children’s 
training which she could not remedy unless she 
turned back unreservedly into the Bungahigh. She 
suffered from the conflict which this situation 
brought about as pitted against her success in work 
and advancement into the position of the advertis¬ 
ing manager. Her advancement meant that some 
of the copy could be given to Tony’s agency if she 
chose. He appreciated the work but resented Blair’s 
having brought it to pass. He was decent enough 
not to proclaim this fact and to listen, more or 
less, to her suggestions. Once before, she had ad¬ 
vised and he had been amused or unimpressed. 
Then, she spoke from behind a baby’s crib. Now 
it was from behind her desk. Following Blair’s 
suggestions, the advertising Tony did was success¬ 
ful. 

Later, Blair offered him the chance to write a 
stray booklet about women in finance, to be dis¬ 
tributed at the first convention of women bankers 


JUDD & JUDD 


183 

in the middle west. Tony spurned the offer, it would 
net but little and he was eager for big contracts. So 
Blair wrote the brochure and spent the profit by 
giving her family a luxurious Christmas dinner, 
served by a maid. She also bought Tony a knife 
to replace one recently lost. He insisted on pre¬ 
senting her with pennies in return. 

The old superstition—must give you something 
to insure future amicability—can’t have our love 
cut in two,” he said lightly, dropping the money 
into her lap. 

Wish I could be sure pennies are a positive 
proof,” Blair said soberly. 

You don’t think we will ever change?” he bent 
down in quick alarm. 

Blair laughed at her own nonsense. “I’m tired,” 
she excused, “I would weep if anyone played Home 
Sweet Home on a banjo! Of course we will be 
amiable—always—always.” 

He took advantage of this betrayal of nerves to 
urge a vacation but Blair refused. Business was 
most engrossing, Sonny had started kindergarten, 
Beatrice was through her first primer. Blair re¬ 
fused to desert her post at such an interesting junc¬ 
ture. 

Tony had learned not to argue just as he had 


184 


JUDD & JUDD 


grown to crave what he termed “big stuff—top 
profits.” He visited the Sterlings sometimes, usu¬ 
ally without Blair, he liked their Sybarite method of 
entertaining. Muriel’s artificial self amused him. 
He did not care whether or not the Sterlings were 
sincere or honest. Their lavish hospitality pro¬ 
duced the same exhilaration a society comedy does 
for a shop girl. 

Blair remained antagonistic to Muriel’s scheme of 
things; moveover, she did not care to meet Peter 
Cabana who had come to be part of Muriel’s draw¬ 
ing room appointments. Muriel referred to him as 
her pet turtle and boasted she had cured him of 
snapping. 

Muriel posed as being sorry for Tony, she inti¬ 
mated this frequently and asked if nothing would 
convince Blair she was acting unwisely. Tony re¬ 
sented any criticism of Blair, he was not in love 
with Muriel or even deceived by her but he was not 
at all unwilling to be asked in as “an extra, hand¬ 
some dear” as Muriel usually worded her invita¬ 
tions. Tony was tired of his own somewhat hurried 
household. By contrast, Muriel’s white and gold 
drawing room and her Dresden doll self proved irre¬ 
sistible. 

He fell into the way of lunching with his chil- 


JUDD & JUDD ^ 

dren and aunt, the latter rejoicing at his so doing. 
The children, secure with their great aunt as buffer, 
found eating with their father a hilarious novelty. 
Occasionally, Tony lunched with Blair but their 
noonday hours seldom were the same. 

Both Blair and Tony avoided each other publicly, 
neither one admitting this was so. Perhaps this 
semi-mystery as to the other’s engagements led to 
an amusing yet revealing happening at a public ad 
club luncheon at which both Mr. Anthony Judd and 
Mrs. Blair Norcross Judd were on the programme 
for five minute speeches. Tony’s came first. 

An appreciative round of applause greeted him 
as he rose, self confident and well appearing, to ad¬ 
dress the crowded room. Sitting at a side table, 
having come in late, Blair felt a thrill of pride, 
possessive pride, as well as curiosity when Tony 
began to speak. 

After his first two sentences, she leaned back in 
her chair with a sense of whimsical dismay. What 
was left for her to say when her name was called? 
Tony had used not only her ideas but her manner 
of stating them. She had unconciously rehearsed 
her speech the previous evening, Tony listening 
without comment. True, he had no idea she was 
to speak at this affair—no programmes were printed. 


186 


JUDD & JUDD 


After her first dismay, Blair was conscious of 
victory. He had considered her judgment sound, 
her opinions pertinent. Before these men and 
women comprising his rivals and associates, he used 
his wife’s words. 

Absent-mindedly, she joined in the concluding 
applause—and pushed aside her plate of luncheon. 
She was indifferent to the rest of the programme 
until the chairman of the day asked her to come to 
the speaker’s table. Then Blair’s eyes sought Tony’s, 
he had not known that she was to be among the 
guests, much less a speaker. When she was intro¬ 
duced as “Mrs. Blair Norcross Judd, advertising 
manager of the Champion Knitting Mills, who has 
something interesting to tell us today-” 

Blair rose, a trifle trembling, her hands cold and 
her cheeks flushed as she said briefly, graciously, 
that her guests had already heard her opinions ably 
expressed by her husband, Anthony Judd. 

The applause, which conveyed in some cases sur¬ 
prise at finding that Blair and Tony were husband 
and wife and in the remainder, a relief at eliminat¬ 
ing another speaker, allowed Blair to slip away un¬ 
noticed. She waited downstairs until the guests 
had filed out. Then Tony found her. 

“I didn’t know you were going to use that stuff/’ 



JUDD & JUDD 

he began contritely, “I wouldn’t have said a single 
word of it fact is, I hadn’t time to get to thinking 
about anything—I’m overworked this time of the 
month-” 

“Be fair,” she smiled up at him. “Don’t under¬ 
mine what was a tribute to your wife. If you thought 
enough of what she said to quote it publicly, why, 
in private, try to say you used it only as a careless 
makeshift?” 

I think what you said was sound and sincere,” 
he admitted, “I’m only regretting you didn’t stand 
up and say it first.” 

Blair’s eyes were wistful. “Isn’t it just the same 
—didn’t we say it publicly?” 

“You did,” Tony insisted; he felt chagrined, 
unfair. “Going right back to the office?” 

“No, I’m to get stockings for Bea. I’m going 
home early—I’ve promised the children a treat.” 

“I’H try to be with you,” he said eagerly, “I’m 
glad you are going home early.” 

Tony did join them by four o’clock—with toys 
for the children and a ravishing box of cut flowers 
for Blair. 

“Indemnity?” she asked as she arranged them. 

“Never—tribute,” he answered lightly, engrossed 
in putting together his son’s mechanical toy. 


188 


JUDD & JUDD 


“Either way—it seems to me extravagance/’ was 
her only comment. 

In time, Tony expressed scornful contempt for 
Leon Caspar, who was more poetical and childish 
than ever, dogging Blair’s footsteps and playing the 
drone at work. Younger members of the office 
force drew cartoons of him and left them on his 
desk, suggested that he was the logical candidate for 
president of the Erie Canal and asked why he tried 
to institute a leisure class within the confines of the 
knitting mills? 

Blair and Roxy were together more than Tony 
liked—or could prevent. Roxy was proud of 
Blair’s progress. She would have had her adopt 
drastic measures, break up the Bungahigh and go 
to live with Miss Judd. But Blair was amused at 
this suggestion. 

“I would not give up my home for anyone or 
anything,” she said in a final refusal, “for what 
else am I working? Hardly for money because my 
being in business adds to the house expenses. I am 
working to keep my family’s respect later on, make 
them, in turn, self sufficient, self respecting. Take 
those children into Aunt Agnes’s cottage—never!” 

You would not have to be there very much,” 
suggested Roxy in self-revealing selfishness. 


Blair had a tremendous attack of conscience fol¬ 
lowing this conversation. She must take care not 
to be an extremist, she warned herself, she must 
not neglect her family. If only Tony would do 
his part let Blair share his affairs while he assumed 
a portion of the home responsibility, what satis¬ 
factory arrangements could be made. However, 
Blair s income proved not only welcome but essen¬ 
tial as time went on. Tony’s profits did not in¬ 
crease due to his desire for only large contracts 
which precluded smaller opportunities. Occasion¬ 
ally, Tony took a flyer in stocks—to his disaster. 
No one could have stated the exact day that Blair 
began paying for the children’s clothes and school, 
her own wardrobe and expenditures and rounding 
out the house budget in the matter of help, re¬ 
furnishing kitchen ware and table linen—repair 
work—turning in the sedan and, by paying more 
money, obtaining a new one. Her position at the 
mills, while responsible and interesting, did not 
require all of her time. The advertising work, and 
she now did nothing else, was of a fairly routine 
nature. So she did extra pieces of work—an ad 
for a new face cream, some doggerel setting forth 
the slenderizing merits of a brassiere, she became 
the muchly ridiculed press agent for Turkish baths, 


190 


JUDD & JUDD 


declining the unlimited baths for payment and 
pocketing the monthly stipend with satisfaction. 

When she came to an actual clash with Tony re¬ 
garding work to be done for a municipal charity 
drive, Tony asked her to yield in his favor and 
fancied that she would—she had dissembled so pret¬ 
tily at the ad club luncheon. 

“I don’t see why I should,” she told him briskly, 
“I need extra money, too. You have not increased 
the sum you give for the house—you have with¬ 
drawn my allowance and you never seem to realize 
what the children are costing. You say you must 
enlarge your business, add another solicitor, an¬ 
other room to your office suite. Very well, I’m 
willing—anything you like if it gets you to the top 
of the ladder. But, meantime, extra expenses come 
on me and I won’t refuse any work I can do better 
than you can. I know the women on this drive 
committee and I am positive they are not prepared 
to pay more than my bid. You are trying to force 
money that they cannot afford to pay. Be reason¬ 
able.” 

“You mean you have underbid me?” 

“I mean I’ll do what they need to have done for 
a hundred dollars, it is a splendid cause and I am 
interested. Besides, I’m friendly with the evening 


JUDD & JUDD 


191 

papers who are the ones to do the featuring. They 
tell me you asked two hundred and fifty—I call it 
profiteering.” 

‘T thank you. How do you know how I’d handle 
it? I’d win them more money than you will—Fd 
have posters and—oh, well, I’m not going to scrap 
with a bunch of women—I had a personal interest 
in the thing, too. But two hundred and fifty is the 
least I’ll touch it for—and when you try to do busi¬ 
ness with women you know socially, Blair—par¬ 
ticularly when it involves their pet charity—you 
want to look them full in the face and ask a top 
price. Believe me, you’ll earn it. You’re a scab,” 
he teased, “you have a job and then try outside 
work at cut prices. You’ll get us all down on you 
if you do this way. The firm ought to pay you 
enough to satisfy you.” 

“They pay me all the job is worth—I’ve a grand 
sounding title but their advertising is routine stuff. 
That is why they don’t mind about my doing out¬ 
side things. In fact this very job was offered me 
by the president’s wife—she is one of Mrs. Bishop’s 
alumnae, too. There you are.” 

“Then do it—I’m off. What does a thing like 
that amount to when you get the Fellows’ contract 
and really life sized commissions?” Tony boasted. 


192 


JUDD & JUDD 


“No one wants you to get the life sized commis¬ 
sions more than I do,” she told him, “but if you 
won’t co-operate, you’ve got to expect competition. 
I’ll take their work for a hundred.” 

Which she did—and after several nerve-racking 
sessions with impracticable women and a delay in 
receiving payment (but not criticism), she was 
asked if she would not turn back ten dollars of her 
check towards the cause. Blair admitted Tony had 
been right. They would not have treated Tony in 
this manner—his two hundred and fifty dollar 
price would have proven his protection. Blair gave 
the ten dollars and wilfully spent the remaining 
ninety in buying a sheathlike gown of peach colored 
taffeta. Upon seeing it, Tony asked her when she 
intended to run for congress! 

To satisfy her conscience after this extrava¬ 
gance, Blair took two days and a half away from 
the office, beginning on Thursday. She cleaned 
and mended and baked and had violent altercations 
with her children who retorted that their aunt al¬ 
lowed them to do so and so, she said their daddy 
used to. 

Tony came home for dinner on these nights in a 
genial frame of mind. He told the children stories 
and built roaring fires in the open hearth before 


JUDD & JUDD 


193 


which Blair sat and mended while he read aloud. 
They even tried to remember some of their piano 
duets but gave it up in good-natured discord. 

Seems like old times,” he said, the third evening. 

It doesn’t to me,” Blair contradicted, “then, I 
was so tired I pretended to know what you read out 
loud. Now, I’m really able to think about it. I’m 
due for a five minute talk on Russia at our business 
women’s next open forum.” 

Tony did not press the subject but became sud¬ 
denly sleepy. 

“Cabana has suggested we buy a real house,” 
he said before they set out for a Sunday afternoon 
drive, “I don’t know but what it would be a good 
thing. What do you say?” He omitted to add 
that Cabana had sympathized over Tony’s home 
situation and Blair s increasing success, suggested 
that a large house might “keep the little woman so 
interested that she would not play truant.” 

“I don’t agree at all, we are fairly comfortable— 
and just making expenses. When we move into a 
permanent home, Peter Cabana will not be the one 
to sell it. I want to be on the edge of town with a 
garden and-” 

“Your typewriter desk?” Tony pretended to ask 
the question carelessly. 



194 


JUDD & JUDD 


“Perhaps. At any rate, by that time, I’ll not be 
in the Champion Knitting Mills,” Blair rewarded 
him. “I’ll have accomplished what I set out to do. 
I wish you’d disabuse your mind of the idea that I 
like a time clock arrangement, I don’t-” 

Tony ignored the subject. 

“Is it cold enough for my big coat?” she asked. 

“Think so. Going to wear your new dress? 
The blue one? That’s nice. I don’t like you in 
your fighting togs.” 

Blair glanced in her clothes press where her 
tailored suit and blouses hung. “Fighting togs?” 
her eyebrows arching, “do you call Muriel’s frocks 
her vamping togs? I’ve a notion to wear a collar 
and tie Roxy gave me last week.” 

“Please,” he was rather helpless, “dress up all 
pretty and wave your hair.” 

The children joined in the request. So Blair 
obeyed, even to pinning a corsage of satin flowers 
on her coat and draping a dotted veil about her hat. 

“Well, family dear?” she demanded, backing the 
car into the street, “how does mother look?” 

“Nice,” said her son promptly. 

“Silly,” was her daughter’s frank decision. 

“My lovely,” Tony hastened to add. 

“A nice, silly lovely,” thought Blair as she turned 


JUDD & JUDD 


J 95 


in time to avoid Mr. Cabana’s limousine and his 
pompous bow. “Then I can’t have neglected them 
overly much or they’d betray the fact if only with 
adjectives.” 


CHAPTER XXII 


In April, Blair was elected delegate to a woman's 
convention in Atlantic City. She sent no proxy. 
Instead, her family went to Aunt Agnes’s and Blair, 
with new, good looking blue things, a timely speech 
in mind and deliberate happiness in her heart, 
attended the affair. She received her share of at¬ 
tention and press items but returned to find the 
children had succumbed to measles while Tony had 
been ordered to wear glasses all the time. 

Blair took a humorous view of the dilemma. 
“My family is not going to ruin as the tract writers 
would have it. The children would have had 
measles if I had been at home and I have warned 
Tony not to read in bed until all hours. I hope this 
will be sufficient lesson to him.” 

Culpable because of previous warnings as to un¬ 
sanitary neighbors, Aunt Agnes was not vehement 
in her reproaches as she might otherwise have been. 
It was evident that the children had contracted the 
measles in the downtown neighborhood. Faithful 
196 


JUDD & JUDD 


197 


and sentimental custodian of them both, Aunt Agnes 
made profuse explanations to Blair; she had dreaded 
her return. When Blair took the news with sensible 
unconcern, she felt relieved—yet disapproving. 

The quarantine being necessary, Blair contented 
herself with visiting via the window panes through 
which barrier she read stories and had lengthy and 
consoling conversations, after which she went to 
her office or back to the Bungahigh where Tony 
was side-tracked due to eyestrain. 

Tony and Blair enjoyed their fortnight alone. 
True, much of the conversation concerned their 
children, who took on deific qualities by virtue of 
their absence, but it was a rest to be by themselves, 
with uninterrupted schedules, removed from juve¬ 
nile tyranny. As soon as the quarantine was lifted, 
Blair hurried them home, stayed away from her 
office two weeks, paying a substitute to do the rou¬ 
tine work and being consulted over the telephone at 
frequent and always inconvenient intervals. The 
children now belied their parents’ fond tributes. 
They seemed possessed of fiendish talents, their 
fertile imaginations having had time to flourish 
while on short bonds. 

Tony’s new glasses promised to accomplish won¬ 
ders, as well as his rest at the Bungahigh. But 


198 


JUDD & JUDD 


Blair felt the Atlantic City convention must have 
happened a lifetime or so ago. She was amazed 
and disappointed to find herself so easily tired and 
discouraged. Her head throbbed when she tried 
to think of business, housekeeping, invalid cookery 
and summer clothes simultaneously! When free to 
return to the office, the children returning to their 
school, it was an effort to appear mentally alert. 
Her substitute had left things in confusion. She 
was a nice little dimpled soul, engaged to be mar¬ 
ried, as Blair had once been, working only to buy 
her trousseau. Even Annette Blake told Blair it 
was a relief to have her back and the first day, the 
president sent her home in his car, Tony having 
borrowed Blair’s. 

These attentions passed over Blair’s head lightly, 
she was bent on finding an extra advertising job 
which would net her a hundred dollars. This would 
pay the doctor and drug bills and help Tony with his 
oculist’s fee. Blair had wanted to assist at a 
spring tea of her Garret Club but her once attrac¬ 
tive blue frock was shabby from reckless wearing 
and she had no ambition to go forth and inspect 
Easter millinery. Other details demanded her at¬ 
tention. She must put in a requisition for a new 
typewriter. She must persuade Leon Caspar to go 


JUDD & JUDD 


199 


away and learn to stand on his own two feet. There 
must be an extensive replenishing of bed linen at 
the Bungahigh, she had had no idea things would 
wear out so easily, it proved what these hand 
laundries did to the best of materials. 

During the time with Tony, Blair had rediscov¬ 
ered a significant fact—he was still a lovable, 
talented child. One gained more through petting 
than prodding him. Wisely, she had betrayed ma¬ 
ternal concern over his astigmatism, ransacked her 
cookbook to make daily offerings in the way of 
favorite dishes, Tony gaining two pounds as a re¬ 
sult. He seemed indifferent to the shabby state of 
their house furnishings, the doctor’s bills, the chil¬ 
dren’s expenses. He had accepted Blair’s estimates. 
He did find fault with his children’s behaviour and 
hint that Blair ought not plan on keeping up such 
a hard routine, she would break nervously, if she did. 

Tony’s chief anxiety was about his business 
which had started to decline through the lack of 
big commissions. He complained that he needed 
more capital—his retrenchments always proved 
boomerangs. You had to spend money to make 
money and he refused to have his offices cluttered 
with “small fry.” Tony and Blair had many a 
sober discussion, Tony in dressing gown and slip- 


200 


JUDD & JUDD 


pers and Blair in her house dress and a blazing log 
fire before them. A passerby would have said, 
“An ideal couple—how devoted he is—how domes¬ 
tic she is—just the way things ought to be.” 

But had they lingered to overhear technical dis¬ 
cussions as to the way to sell an idea, tri-colored 
cover pages, merits of various lithographers, the 
eavesdropper would have been convinced that cir¬ 
cumstantial evidence was an unreliable affair. 

Blair disagreed with Tony as to his stand about 
business. She considered he now suffered from 
stage fright and for a man who had had several 
important contracts, he had not made the most of 
his ability. For instance, he should have spoken 
about his trip abroad before several organizations, 
both social and commercial. He should have used 
the old world backgrounds and phrases when he 
exploited refrigerators or nursing bottles or snow- 
shoes just as he used American slang and modern¬ 
ism to rejuvenate the line of British canned goods. 
Instead, she felt that Tony, despite his extravagant 
private office, was dwindling into the routine of 
the average advertising copy writer. Why should 
this be ? He fairly bristled with original ideas, not 
only in college but with Carson and Scott—now was 
the time to recall them. Blair considered he had 


201 


JUDD & JUDD 

inefficient help. When he showed impatience be¬ 
cause she would not sympathize over the limited 
purchasing value of his capital, Blair said that she 
would either work for a reputable firm such as 
Carson and Scott and trade on their vastness of 
capital or else she would plunge and take a chance. 
If she owned an agency, she would hire first class 
men or none, furnish her office more simply than 
Tony had done but see that the clients called upon 
her instead of dashing out to see them, as he seemed 
to do. Well, she would manage it! She could not 
say just how—not offhand. She would give small 
lunches at the best grills, make them distinctive af¬ 
fairs which would be noised about. Yet with all 
this, never would she feel any job was too small for 
her best efforts. Say—the things Tony tossed aside 
and she managed to catch! Oh, he need not frown 
—these “crumbs” had bought many things for the 
Judd family besides supplying oil and gas for the 
sedan without pause. While she was doing smaller 
things, she would be on the watch for larger ones 
—that is, were she in business. Even the work for 
the charity drive, during which she was heckled 
and patronized by every member of the committee, 
had been the means of her being elected delegate to 
Atlantic City. 


202 


JUDD & JUDD 


Whenever conversation became too personal, 
Tony managed to change the subject. He was dis¬ 
couraged and financially in arrears but he did not 
wish Blair to suspect. She had been too successful 
a truant from her home and Tony was still deter¬ 
mined to prove what he could do. But a snail’s 
pace maddened and baffled him. He told himself, 
his conscience being well trained, that this eye 
trouble had pulled him down, he would feel like a 
two-year-old in a few weeks, he might take another 
chance on the stock market—one could never tell. 
Sterling got away with it. The day before the 
children came home, he asked Blair if she was go¬ 
ing to sign any contract to remain with the mills. 

“I won’t sign a contract,” she answered, “nor 
would I resign. They are putting out the fall and 
holiday line now and they would have a hard time 
to fill my place. Apart from my own inclinations, 
my weekly envelope has been well spent right here. 
Do you realize, that with extra work, I average 
about fifty dollars a week? Just before I had to 
take this time off, the Persons’ Brothers, who have 
loads of money to spend and who are putting out 
a new fancy wafer, asked me to do quatrains for 
them, they want to run ads in the better class of 
magazine. I knew they would think more of me if 


JUDD & JUDD 


203 


I asked sufficient to buy the Judd family’s winter 
coal supply—so I quoted my price and they did not 
seem astonished. I’m to know positively within 
a week whether I’m to have the order.” 

Tony refrained from asking why Blair did not 
send them to his agency when she knew he needed 
the work. He gave a quick exclamation which 
might have indicated admiration or aggravation. 
It caused Blair to add: 

“I did not send them to you because I have sent 
three different people who wanted small copy 
turned out and you shooed them away as if they 
were peddling chestnuts. I lost the money, too. 
You lost my confidence. When a real chance came, 
I kept it right in the family lest you decided you 
could not be concerned writing poems about fancy 
wafers.” 

She was dusting the living room as she talked, 
her face turned away so he could not gauge just 
how much was humor and how much long-standing 
indignation. 

“Sorry,” he volunteered. “I know you are keen 
enough to handle any contract that comes your way 
—so all power to you. How’s that for broad¬ 
mindedness ?” 

“Splendid,” she cried, emptying his ash tray, “it 


204 


JUDD & JUDD 


is a broad highway after all. We’ve not collided 
to date, have we?” 

‘‘No—but we’ve missed each other. How about 
that? Home has been so different.” 

Blair swept the hearth with a tall witch-like 
broom. “If I gave up my job,” she said finally, “I 
should lose my family later on. The only way to 
keep my family—I trust I am not too far sighted— 
is to keep this job until-” 

“Until what, lovely?” this time Tony’s coaxing 
tone maddened her. 

“Until my husband and children have realized 
what a great job it has been to have kept a family,” 
was her paradoxical ultimatum. 

Tony took her answer as a sign of selfish ambi¬ 
tion and spent the evening wondering what Blair 
would do if he were some men that he knew of, 
what would she do if he suddenly fell out of love 
with her and in love with some nice pink-and-white 
person or if her. children grew up and went to the 
devil because their mother was in business or if he 
became blind—any number of pleasantly tragic and 
remote possibilities. 

Blair punctured this egocentric phantasy by call¬ 
ing him to see the nursery made ready for the 
children’s return. She had made gay bed and dress- 



JUDD & JUDD 


205 


ing table covers and upon each respective chair was 
a mysterious bundle containing the welcome home 
surprise. 

“Can’t you see how they’ll laugh?” she asked, 
ignoring his gloom. “I almost believe Bea will be a 
tyrant unless we take care. Thank goodness, she 
has nice eyes. If one must be a tyrant, it is well 
to have a more or less ingenue landscape.” 

Tony praised the room. Looking down at her, 
he said half ashamedly: “You’ve worked so hard— 
but you always do that, never sparing yourself! 
Do you never want to play?” 

“It is enough to work hard as I do,” she told 
him, “I like the being tired both in brain and body. 
Before, it was just my body, my brain kept rebel¬ 
ling and suggesting all sorts of things. With peo¬ 
ple like Roxy, their brains are tired but not their 
bodies—and there’s apt to be a different sort of 
confusion. As for just play—I wonder!” 


CHAPTER XXIII 


During the summer and early fall, Blair and 
Aunt Agnes found themselves at an intellectual 
deadlock. Aunt Agnes had the more appealing 
grip, her arguments were the sentimental, tradi¬ 
tional variety against which Blair’s unsentimental, 
modern platform appeared worse than futile—un¬ 
feeling. 

As a result of her over-education (Aunt Agnes 
stoutly refused to call it higher education) Blair was 
dissatisfied with normal home life, although her 
children were adorable and her husband a peer 
among husbands. She wanted Tony’s job and her 
own too, Aunt Agnes complained. She left her 
children to their tender hearted great-aunt and then 
was displeased at the way this great-aunt cared for 
them. She hinted they were spoiled as well as dys¬ 
peptic little pragmatists. She interfered when Bea¬ 
trice wore an amazing number of handmade petti¬ 
coats and wanted the child a tom-boy in serge 
bloomers and middy blouses. She insisted her hair 
206 


JUDD & JUDD 


207 


be bobbed instead of curled and her son must be 
his father’s polarity. Well, if she was certain this 
was the proper way for her children to be trained, 
why not stay at home and do the thing to her own 
liking? It was a hopeless situation, according to 
Aunt Agnes. If Blair kept her office job, she was 
unwomanly; if she stayed at home to make her chil¬ 
dren into cold blooded modernists, better she put 
on her hat and go to an office. 

Aunt Agnes whimpered of this state of affairs 
to Tony who, floundering in business and pessimis¬ 
tic generally, hinted that he agreed but, for heaven’s 
sake, say nothing of this to Blair. It would look 
as if he were a disloyal gossip. 

However, Blair surmised Tony and his aunt had 
joined forces. She fought out the question with 
herself—was it right to prove her theory and save 
her self-respect but step out of her home in order to 
do so? It was not, she would decide, seven times out 
of ten. The remaining three times, she would re¬ 
cover from puritanical self-abasement, mental colic 
and declare it was right—she must be reasonable. 
From eight forty-five, to be exact, until three 
o’clock, Beatrice was at an excellent country day 
school, the same school Blair would have selected 
had she remained at home. (Only she would not 


20S 


JUDD & JUDD 


have been able to afford it, very likely.) Her son 
stayed at the school until luncheon time. From 
three thirty and one thirty (times of arriving by 
the school bus at Miss Judd’s) her children were 
with their great-aunt until Blair called for them 
before six o’clock. On Saturday mornings, some¬ 
times for all day if Blair had extra things on hand, 
they were at Aunt Agnes’s. Every Sunday, Blair 
devoted herself to her family. Now—had she re¬ 
mained home, how much time would the children 
have been with their great-aunt? They would 
have spent at least one afternoon of the school week 
and Aunt Agnes would have come out to see them 
at least two, since her other interests were singularly 
few and limited. Subtracting this time from the 
original sum, how many hours of wrong training and 
“motherly neglect” did her children fall heir to? 
And what was all this hue and cry about? Still, it 
was not Aunt Agnes who was at fault any more 
than it was Blair. It was Tony. It was his oblivion 
to Blair’s being anything else but his wife and to his 
own responsibilities in being a father as well as an 
individual citizen. No one, after all, could remedy 
this dilemma except Tony. Then she would ask: 

“True—but if Tony is at fault, is it not due to his 
aunt’s training? Is she influencing my children 


JUDD & JUDD 


209 


as she influenced him?” Common sense would 
answer: “But she is not influencing them overly 
much. You are their confidant and chief adviser. 
You hear their prayers, you supervise their educa¬ 
tion, you are still mother, center of the home. 
Only, they have come to realize their mother can 
think as well as cook. They enjoy and take for 
granted coming to your office as much as rolling out 
cookies in your kitchen. Well you know, if an 
emergency should arise, you would not hesitate 
to let work go by the board in order to devote your¬ 
self to your family. You have already done so. 
But you must never let work go by so far that you 
could not catch up to it.” 

In midsummer, the Judds and Aunt Agnes took 
a vacation in the north woods, renting a cottage for 
a month to enjoy and endure, by turn, the freedom 
of the open and lack of gas and electricity. Tony 
had to go to town during the month. Blair wrote 
her advertising quatrains (a second series) and 
sent them off by special delivery. She experienced 
much satisfaction having done this. The smoking 
oil cook stove, the mammoth mosquitoes, poison ivy 
growing round their door appealed to her sense of 
humor instead of ruining her enjoyment. After 
all, these details were not paramount in her scheme 


210 


JUDD & JUDD 


of things. Work was paramount and after she gave 
her first efforts to it, she could afford, by contrast, 
to smile at what would have been a calamity if she 
had not done so. Blair realized that at one time, 
she would have been tense and combative over the 
inconvenience of this camp housekeeping. Her 
restless brain would have been forced to have made 
as much as it could out of the harassing situation. 
Now, she relaxed as she cooked bacon and eggs, 
sent the children to a farmer for milk, admired the 
pink borders around the cloud clusters. 

In the fall, Muriel Sterling called on Blair to dis¬ 
play her cape of beige dyed ermine which she had 
bought as a result of one of Oliver’s clever deals. 
Muriel had spent the summer in the Berkshires, 
charming people there if only one had letters of 
introduction! She had stayed at one of those ex¬ 
pensive inns on the edge of an exclusive resort. 
Here, with considerable progress, she spent her 
time making social connections beyond even those 
of Oliver’s family. Everyone had been “so sweet 
and so impressed with Oliver’s knowledge of 
finance.” Indeed, Ollie felt New York was the 
next logical step. Muriel rather dreaded this since 
it meant a stupendous income if one was to do 
things properly. A Park Avenue apartment would 


JUDD & JUDD 


211 


be at least four thousand and one must have a smart 
summer place to flit to as soon as the calendar veered 
towards June. Still if it meant her husband’s ad¬ 
vancement, she was prepared to sacrifice! More 
and more, Oliver was interested only in the really 
vast ventures and men trusted him, older men, 
too. 

How did Blair stand working in an office and 
coming home to this funny little house to do the 
housework, more or less? Of course, it was not 
much of a house and she could see they had not 
bought many new things to be taken care of—still, 
there were just so many steps to be taken and so 
many persons fed. Tony was such a handsome lamb, 
if Blair would listen to sisterly advice, she would play 
around with Tony instead of wearing dowdy 
clothes and fondling a typewriter. Of course, Blair 
was brainy and clever—but the nicest husband in 
the world, particularly if he was fairly young and 
handsome, was apt to fall for a fluffy playmate. 
She did not want to suggest any such possibility— 
only she would prefer to see Tony forge ahead and 
Blair ritz it a trifle. The four of them could have 
such good times if this was the case. Better 
think it over, she concluded, as she insisted Blair 
ought to come to tea some day and tell her she was 


212 


JUDD & JUDD 


ready to succumb. She would send her car for her, 
if Blair would let her know the day before. 

There was a patronizing challenge as she sug¬ 
gested this last. It caused Blair to promise care¬ 
lessly that indeed, she would be happy to come some¬ 
time, she refused to let this insincere manikin think 
taking tea with Mrs. Oliver Sterling was anything 
but a brief punishment in the day’s events. 

Muriel floated out, beige dyed ermine and all, 
waving a white kid gloved hand at Blair who un¬ 
ceremoniously lingered in the doorway. Someway, 
she was glad the children were out with their aunt 
and Tony staying downtown for a stag banquet. 
She did not analyze her reasons—that she was 
afraid Tony might have agreed with Muriel. But 
she did wave her hair and put on her peach colored 
taffeta, waiting up until after eleven for Tony’s 
return. He did not seem to notice either her waved 
hair or best frock. He was tired, discouraged at 
losing a contract he had felt was as good as closed 
and bored with the banquet. 

Blair wondered what tactics Muriel would have 
advised to have won his admiration and attention. 

As the holidays approached, she admitted to be¬ 
ing nervous, always conscious of Tony’s prophecy 
about her vitality playing out and her inability, 


JUDD & JUDD 


213 


purely on physical grounds, to keep up the pace. 
This prophecy maddened her. She became stoically 
dishonest about danger symptoms. She was per¬ 
fectly all right, she did not need more than five or 
six hours’ sleep and black coffee was not at all 
harmful—how ridiculous to suggest such a thing. 

“Funny little incidents or speeches stick in my 
brain like slivers—and fester,” she complained to 
her father in despair. “If I were talking auto jargon, 
I’d best say it by the fact that my spark plugs seemed 
to be clogged! For instance, I keep remembering 
the cheap tie pin some salesman wore and I think 
of what Muriel said or how Roxy did not smile as 
frankly as she used to or I keep seeing my son after 
he had fallen into the lake last summer—all this 
in the middle of a business conference! Then I’m 
afraid I betray the fact—and I stutter. I can’t close 
mental doors. Why should this be?” 

She was sorry she had admitted as much. 
“Look ahead, Blair,” her father told her gravely, 
“where do you think you are heading for ?” 

“What do you mean?” she asked, startled. 

“I think Tony is like most men,” he told her in 
his convincing way. “He won’t believe what he 
does not want to—what generations of men before 
him have not been asked to believe. And if you 


214 


JUDD & JUDD 


have done all this to prove you are as smart as he is 
—you'd better stop short before there is any seri¬ 
ous damage done. I’m no judge of modern life— 
according to the younger generation, I’m mentally 
pensioned. Things have changed too radically to 
apply our theories or tactics. Of what use was the 
harness and whip when horses were shelved for 
automobiles ? Oh, we older ones may kid ourselves 
we’re abreast of the times just because we wear 
wrist watches and read psycho-analysis but we’re 
not. And I think that’s a proof that something’s 
wrong with us, too. I’ll grant you that much. We 
haven’t our finger on the pulse of you youngsters. 
You’ve run away from us. From the looks of 
things now, I can’t imagine your children running 
away from you. That’s one point in your favor. 
You sold me the idea of a college education but you 
haven’t sold me the idea that a woman can have an 
office as well as a nursery—maybe I’m too dull to 
grasp it. I wish you’d keep in mind that, ac¬ 
cording to all the other women who have tried this 
thing, you are riding for a fall—and you had better 
be prepared for Tony’s refusal to catch you!” 


CHAPTER XXIV 


For a ninth anniversary present, Blair's father 
gave her a check for five hundred dollars. Blair 
promptly engaged a competent day maid. She 
would provide so that her children did not go to 
their aunt's after school hours. Blair’s mind would 
be more at ease. 

Her father still disapproved yet applauded his 
daughter’s platform. He was bound to admire her, 
she was paying dividends in a sense on her educa¬ 
tional outlay, just as he could not help an almost 
mechanical reaction that she was not doing what 
her mother had done. Of late, he had become con¬ 
cerned about Tony. He admitted this to Blair dur¬ 
ing a downtown luncheon. Perhaps Tony was not 
as big a man as he once promised, otherwise, his 
agency would have gone ahead. Perhaps he needed 
a partner, a balance wheel—Tony was rather dynam¬ 
ic. He, personally, had done all he could for him 
but Tony never followed up his leads. He was 
215 


216 JUDD & JUDD 

acting constrained, aloof, these days, as if he feared 
loss of dignity. 

“Which is a mistake any way you want to figure/' 
her father concluded, “he’ll get his dignity back in 
his coffin—now’s the time 'to get his bank-roll. 
Tony’s got to be a good fellow and mixer if he is 
going to hold his ground. He acts as if he felt so 
sorry for himself.” 

“I think Tony was premature in starting for 
himself,” Blair recalled at what personal cost this 
had come to pass. “He should have stayed with 
his firm a few more years. I suspect he suffers 
from inferiority, feels he has slight backing, is be¬ 
ing criticized. His way of showing this is to affect 
indifference. He fancies that is dignity.” 

“I don’t know but what you have said it,” her 
father began scrutinizing his daughter carefully. 
“But you look too old, Blair—Tony doesn’t. Any¬ 
one ever dare to tell you this ? Better have a—what 
do you call them—a cold cream facial and wear 
soft, fluffy stuff near your face.” 

“You brute,” Blair bantered, but she did not 
look into a nearby mirror because she knew her 
father’s remarks would be substantiated. “Why 
try for a kiss-baby effect? I’m not a flapper. It is 
almost Bea’s turn.” 


“No, but a woman can look her best until she is 
eighty if she will only use her brains.” 

“You mean if her husband has money and gives it 
to her.” Blair was thinking of Muriel. “I don’t 
want my appearance to be my career.” 

“You don’t get me. I think a woman has a sort 
of—now don’t laugh, my wise child, a sort of 
mental or spiritual beauty and vitality during the 
middle years. It—er—shines through,” he waved 
his stubby fingers expressively. “But you seem 
strung on wires, always on the defensive for an 
argument or idea—but not a smile. You work too 
hard trying to be in two places at once. Stay home 
a year, see how it goes, get a bigger house and take 
Aunt Agnes under your wing. If you can’t change 
Tony’s idea about your ability—I’d stay home and 
make him prove his own ability. Then I’d take all 
the profits and look very coy and happy.” 

“You sound like a Ouida heroine,” Blair said 
sharply. 

Here, Leon Caspar spied them and came to make 
himself a nuisance. Blair kept thinking of her 
father’s challenge as Leon mooned about his love 
and the coldness of the world as contrasted against 
the warmth of his last poem. Sometimes, Blair de¬ 
spised Leon, other times, she felt maternally 


218 


JUDD & JUDD 


tolerant, anxious lest he become a permanent 
adolescent. Today, he inspired indignation. As 
they entered the office, her father having left her at 
the restaurant door, he warned her that she was be¬ 
ing watched—was she amazed—why not believe 
him for once? 

“Watched! What a silly you are. Join the 
communists and get a commission in the bomb 
brigade. You are spoiling for an opportunity to 
make a complete idiot of yourself,” Blair insisted, 
“and if you keep on writing me notes, I shall turn 
them over to Mr. Kimball—this is the last warn- 
mg. 

“Oh, Mrs. Judd,” pleaded Leon in his fal¬ 
setto not unpleasant voice, “you will come to see 
that my way is right—this Roxy, you think she is 
your friend? Bah! She is the snake in the grass 
—she hates you,” he lit a cigarette to punctuate his 
remarks. 

“Are you growing queer ?” asked Blair harshly. 

“She hates you as much as she once loved you,” 
he confided, coming so close Blair longed to box his 
ears. “Strange, is it not? Have you no idea why 
this could be so?” 

“Just now I have but one idea, that you deserve a 
psycho-pathic ward. Come to your senses, if you 


JUDD & JUDD 


219 


have any. Work instead of dream, find some nice 
girl and try to support her. Make a bonfire of your 
dramas and poems and renovate your brain with a 
little hard work. Why do you insist in pestering 
me ?” In despair, Blair resorted to the homely word. 

“I will tell you why,” Leon added, petting his wisp 
of a mustache with a moist hand, “she hates you be¬ 
cause she has fallen in love with me!” 

Blair was angry but all she said was, “Please clear 
out, Leon—Pm busy—and dangerous.” 

“She may wear men’s collars, be brave and fero¬ 
cious when she talks, have a bank account but she is 
just a silly woman, an educated old maid! She 
longs for romance. I warn you, she will tell 
your husband of my admiration for you. She 
watches us—she hates you because I, oh, Blair, can 
I help my—” 

Blair had rung for her slim but sinewy assistant 
who, of his own accord had christened Leon “the 
weak-fish.” 

“Leon can’t find the way to his own desk,” she 
said briefly, “suppose you lend a hand.” 

Crimson with mortification, Leon escaped the 
assistant’s outstretched hand. Blair laid a finger on 
her lips as the door closed. 

“Sorry you lost such a good chance,” trying to 


220 


JUDD & JUDD 

pass the matter over lightly. “You see, he read me 
one too many poem.” 

After this, Leon avoided her with noticeable 
manoeuvres. He left a long apology on her desk, 
also a few sonnets, repeating his gossip and the 
bland statement that Roxy had succumbed to his 
charms. He begged Blair to “be on her guard” but 
Blair made no response. She tried to forget the in¬ 
cident although it cropped up at unreasonable and 
frequent intervals. She did not tell Tony, perhaps 
because it sounded far fetched and conceited to claim 
Leon was infatuated with her, ridiculous little cad 
that he might be. Tony was in no tellable state of 
mind these days, he worried about his health and was 
given to gymnasium drill and diets. 

Blair was forced to admit that Roxy had not 
seemed as friendly of late, they had not lunched to¬ 
gether in several weeks. Still, that could be easily 
accounted for—she would not be as foolish and 
imaginative as Leon Caspar. 

Periodically, Leon repeated his warnings. Once, 
he confronted her as she left the office and 
begged for some word of sympathy. He assured 
Blair that he despised this Roxy woman and 
loved—forgive him—loved only Blair. Be kind to 
him for he was of a dangerous disposition and for 


JUDD & JUDD 


221 


months had struggled with his emotions. Surely 
she would be an angel of goodness and, at least, 
show some tolerance ? 

Blair turned him aside with a short answer. She 
decided to tell Tony without delay knowing the un¬ 
pleasant argument which would result. Tony 
would insist she ask for Leon’s discharge or leave the 
office herself. She was unwilling to do either. 
Tony was but human, he had had spasms of amusing 
jealousy during their courtship and just now—but 
she found herself wondering if she could provoke 
even half a spasm. 

She took the next afternoon to drink the long 
promised cup of tea with Muriel and be impressed 
by the Sterlings’ grandeur of background. Cabana 
dropped in informally. He was now promoted from 
the rank of pet turtle to that of Muriel’s fairy god¬ 
father ! He had his divorce and no delicacy in tell¬ 
ing its details. He said he owed Muriel everything 
for her hospitality and comprehending heart, few 
knew what he had endured—ah, but he was a man’s 
man and would take the blame in silence. 

He drove Blair home, radiant with Muriel’s 
praises (and brandy) and rather contemptuous of 
the Judd finances. He did not mention their buy¬ 
ing a house. Nor was he greatly concerned with 


222 


JUDD & JUDD 


his former tenants and mortgagees. Cabana was 
bent on having Indian summer. As he told Blair, 
he felt but a boy at heart—with a grand-dad’s ex¬ 
perience and income! He was going to express the 
poetry in his soul. In other words, he had learned 
to dance and found a sufficiently expensive tailor. 
Tony had said he planned to visit southern resorts 
that winter with the rest of the bar flies. 

The tea party added to Blair’s distraction. Reach¬ 
ing the Bungahigh, she felt impelled to telephone 
Roxy to ask her to dinner, she must dispell any ab¬ 
surd suspicions. But Roxy could not come, Blair 
fancied a coldness in her voice. She tried to be 
solicitous about Roxy’s last case, which had been 
unsuccessful, but Roxy was in a monosyllabic humor. 
In despair, Blair hung up the receiver and won¬ 
dered if she was the idiot and Leon the sage! 

Tony arrived with the makings of an excellent 
cold and a list of grievances against a client who 
had double crossed him in using ideas which Tony 
had not safeguarded in advance. Dinner came on 
the table somewhat scorched and Beatrice upset her 
mug of milk. Her brother wept sympathetically 
when she was scolded which caused his own repri¬ 
mand on the part of a nervous and sneezing father. 
Blair finished the evening of minor catastrophes by 


JUDD & JUDD 


223 


remembering it was Aunt Agnes’s birthday—an 
event hitherto celebrated by a family dinner as well 
as gifts. How could she explain such callous neg¬ 
lect? Her only comfort during her thought-out 
apology was that it was Tony’s aunt yet he, too, had 
forgotten. He left such details as birthdays and 
holidays for Blair’s memory. It was such minor 
details which formed the bulk of evidence proving 
that Tony, like most of his brethren, drew an unfair, 
uneven line of demarcation between a man’s work 
and a woman’s duty. 


CHAPTER XXV 


Aunt Agnes pretended she forgave the neglect of 
her birthday and Blair pretended she believed her¬ 
self forgiven. Both women blamed Tony but did 
not mention the fact. Blair now took another step 
in rearranging her household. She left the Bunga- 
high and moved into a downtown apartment. 

This was the preliminary to Aunt Agnes’s selling 
her long cherished house, now suffocated between a 
machine shop and a foreign grocery store. The 
sale was fostered by an enterprising concern of 
shoemakers, who realized what a point of vantage 
the faded, Queen Anne cottage could become. They 
paid a fair price for the property and lost no time 
in building on rooms for innumerable boarders, cut¬ 
ting a front shop window and allowing the one-time 
garden to become a parking space so wealthy work¬ 
ing men might feel assured their six cylinders were 
unmolested. 

Aunt Agnes was grateful when Blair and Tony 
undertook the task of moving her from the cottage. 

224 


JUDD & JUDD 


225 


She could not hear to see it dismantled, most of the 
contents sold or given away. When she murmured 
about finding a suitable boarding house, Blair in¬ 
sisted she come with them to the downtown apart¬ 
ment. Tony heartily seconded the idea. He was 
content with this new arrangement which meant an 
end of furnace work and snow shovelling, expensive 
day help for the lawn and garden which resulted in 
a row of pigmy plants always tramped down by the 
children. The children would still attend the country 
day school until full five o’clock and Blair’s addi¬ 
tional money (she netted three thousand with extra 
work) would provide an out-of-door vacation in 
the summer. Soon she would send the children to 
mountain camps or they might build a log cabin in 
the hills. 

Aunt Agnes need not feel she was a burden. Day 
help was more feasible in the apartment than at the 
Bungahigh. The neighborhood of the latter sug¬ 
gested nothing more than a “little girl after school 
hours” or char-women. Besides, they would save 
gasolene because they would walk to their offices, 
both needing the exercise. The apartment they 
leased was far removed from the Gramatan atmos¬ 
phere of honeymoon days. Although, it, too, as 
Blair insisted, was but a temporary dwelling. When 


226 


JUDD & JUDD 


business was on a more stable basis with Tony, they 
might try a house in the suburbs again. For now, 
this seven room, spacious flat with two baths and 
janitor service, to say nothing of a front balcony 
which afforded “atmosphere” for Sonny’s goldfish, 
was the best place they could have located. It was a 
hundred and thirty-five dollars a month. This was 
economical compared to the fuel bills and extra 
expenses involved at the house on the hill. They 
would have to spend some money in furnishing the 
apartment, which Blair christened as Headquarters, 
but they would have had to refurnish the Bunga- 
high, for that matter. 

Aunt Agnes surrendered to their plans, the 
children were enthusiastic. There was a park a few 
squared distant and the school bus passed the apart¬ 
ment house door. The Bungahigh became the home 
of a bridal couple who considered it too darling for 
words. They were so happy and unsuspecting that 
Blair presented them with her curtain rods, a hun¬ 
dred feet of garden hose and three cans of French 
blue paint which had been intended to create a futur¬ 
ist effect when applied to the outside shutters. 

Headquarters was furnished in reed furniture and 
soft, inexpensive rugs of domestic make. Blair sur¬ 
veyed the result with something akin to satisfaction. 


JUDD & JUDD 


227 


It had a homelike air, with just the suggestion that 
no one was ever home overly much. She did not 
feel her net curtains and cretonne overdrapes were 
a whit less attractive than Muriel’s imported fineries 
and she considered the second hand dining room set 
quite fetching, even if the buffet doors were inclined 
to stick and two of the chairs were to be looked at, 
not sat upon. Aunt Agnes had contributed her old 
fashioned walnut book cases which Blair and Tony 
promptly filled. The place had a somewhat poly¬ 
glot not undesirable effect. Everyone’s individuality 
was expressed. Each of the children had a room, 
even if Beatrice’s opened onto a fire escape and 
son’s boudoir had formerly been used as a store 
closet. 

“This is more like it,” praised Tony, after they 
had moved and things were in running order. “I 
feel ten years younger not having to come up that 
blasted hill to find a smouldering furnace fire, snow 
a foot deep and no help of any kind. You, too, 
Blair, had to turn in after your day’s work to get 
some sort of a meal. The machine used to stall four 
days out of five, if you’ll be honest. When you 
get down to facts, it was nonsense to stay in that 
cheap hut of Cabana’s. Headquarters has more room 
and conveniences, quite as much fresh air and a 


228 


JUDD & JUDD 


great deal less work. We can walk to a theater or 
park inside of fifteen minutes. Until we strike the 
real yellow jacket, I vote to stay here and be inde¬ 
pendent and happy.” 

Blair agreed. The apartment afforded her more 
leeway in all directions. She could reach places 
without a long, cold ride. Friends came to see her 
whereas they seldom came as far as the Bungahigh 
without special invitations. Moreover, she often 
called for them and took them home. Here, house¬ 
work was simple. There were no stairs but a 
willing janitor and wife. A capable woman came 
by the day to do their other work. Tony’s aunt was 
removed from her unsuitable environment. When 
her father was in town, he could stay at a family 
hotel next door. The children, who adored their 
grandfather, always clamored for him to be close 
by. 

So Judd and Norcross outweighed the advantages 
of this new home against the disadvantages of be¬ 
ing more or less under public inspection, hearing 
frequent and unwelcome noises of other tenants, 
being on the top floor and the elevator a chronic 
sufferer of paralysis, going altogether too often, due 
to convenient location, to motion pictures and 
delicatessen shops. 


JUDD & JUDD 


229 


It was impossible to carry out their vacation idea 
this initial summer. Next year, they would rent a 
cabin for three months and come and go as it was 
necessary. They did not mind this first summer in 
town, it proved to be a rainish, coolish affair. The 
children went to the park a great deal and Aunt 
Agnes and Blair planned and executed many day 
excursions to the lake. 

Blair was becoming known as a reliable advertis¬ 
ing woman. Her firm appreciated her, although in 
no position to pay more. They compromised by 
offering her some stock which was certain to rise 
and permitting her to do outside work. Carson and 
Scott, Tony’s former firm, sent her a letter asking 
if she contemplated making any change. It would 
have seemed disloyal to Tony to have responded to 
this. Blair heard unpleasant hints of Tony’s wan¬ 
ing business. She felt she had the right to be 
opinionated in her judgments, frank in voicing her 
ideas. When she tried to help Tony, he was dis¬ 
pleased, he denied he was worried over business or 
that it was anything but on the up. But he was 
growing out of touch with the things upon which. 
Blair’s finger had found its way to the pulse. He 
became quick tempered and complained of facial 
neuralgia. After consulting another oculist, he 


230 


JUDD & JUDD 


threatened to abandon medicine—it was an em¬ 
pirical science, none of them knew what they were 
doing. He spent much of his time at his club and be¬ 
gan to play a rather sharp game of billiards. This 
was unproductive of business, Blair judged, but she 
knew better than to have suggested it. Tony was 
too sardonic and uncertain of disposition. He 
criticized his children upon slight provocation and, 
secretly, took a mail order course in how to acquire 
a magnetic personality. 

Moreover, Tony had taken up the dangerous 
hobby of “I want” instead of “I will do.” Perhaps 
he was innocently due for an epidemic of this in¬ 
sidious American experience, product of too much 
mechanical ease, too lavish resources. By degrees, 
eight generations of American born Judds had 
decreased in their personal efforts, spiritual struggles 
until this descendant was the logical exponent 
of self-indulgent assurance. It is significant there 
is no authorized goddess of the machine to take her 
place beside the patron saint of vital trades—fisher¬ 
man, farmer, poet, soldier. 

Like many contemporaries, all unknowingly, 
Tony earned his living and ordered his life in align¬ 
ment with the prevailing forces—the machine—the 
atmosphere of ready made, no need to wait, plenty 


JUDD & JUDD 


231 


of them, why not fortunes as well as foundry sup¬ 
plies? Therefore, the god of glamour, a dangerous 
pretender was claiming him for a follower. Tony 
wanted easy money—the first part of glamour’s 
ritual. An American of Americans among foreign 
scum, he felt he was entitled to it. Tony was na¬ 
tionally out of form, as an athlete who fancies his 
past record permits him to forego training. 

The source of this trouble had been Blair s efforts 
at what Tony termed independence. Secretly, he be¬ 
lieved himself misunderstood, he was unwilling to 
see her viewpoint. Now, compromise was not to be 
considered—they had chosen separate ways. Only 
Blair, through child bearing and housework, had be¬ 
come immune to glamour. She had learned that one 
not only worked for what one got but had to continue 
in effort if they were going to continue to succeed. 

Outwardly, Blair and Roxy remained friends but 
Leon’s deluded self had succeeded in creating an in¬ 
visible breach which both felt duty bound to con¬ 
ceal. Roxy was irritable and visionary these days, 
unreliable in her interests and efforts. She had 
gained not only public prestige but annoying avoir¬ 
dupois. She still lived in the thumb nail apartment, 
where Blair had spent the memorable vacation, but 
she adopted a distinctly feminine style of dress, even 


232 


JUDD & JUDD 


to earrings and bracelets and a fur wrap which put 
to shame her former homespuns. She carried a 
vanity case and had a permanent hair wave. People 
murmured they were never certain how they might 
find her. Her ability seemed as rythmic as her tem¬ 
per. She went to risque matinees by herself, read 
frothy fiction, became engrossed with psycho¬ 
analysis, by which tender science she found self-ex¬ 
cuse and gratification for her increasing strangeness. 

Both women refrained from discussing Leon 
Caspar, it was mutually voted a dud topic. Blair 
now believed Leon’s insinuations might be true. 
She had come across Roxy eating lunch with him— 
and paying for it, too. At first, she insisted it must 
be a matter of big sister sympathy on Roxy’s part, 
the same altruism she displayed towards wayward 
girls or elderly people. Underdogs had always 
been Roxy’s piece de resistance, the more they were 
under, the more ardent her attentions. 

Leon’s attitude towards Blair remained un¬ 
changed. She knew he was responsible for the 
occasional floral or poetical offerings she found on 
her desk and he still insisted on heaping her supply 
cabinet with bountiful sundries. She told herself 
Leon enjoyed this hurt dignity and unrequited 
love; she refused to take the matter seriously. But 


JUDD & JUDD 


233 


Leon waited, as he informed her in free verse, for 
her discovery that he was essential to her happiness. 
Then she would beg forgiveness for this bad be¬ 
haviour. 

Blair’s increasing dissatisfaction in being in the 
office was due, somewhat, to this situation. But a 
change could not be affected while Tony’s business 
ran along just clearing expenses and the house re¬ 
lying, more or less, on Blair’s earnings. At first, 
the situation had been entirely the reverse. Neither 
Blair nor Tony had intended nor believed it could 
have changed. 


CHAPTER XXVI 


“Something alarming has happened/’ said Blair, 
as she walked home with Tony one December night. 
They had attended their alumni banquet. “We are 
no longer friends. We are merely married.” 

Tony did not help her across the street, although 
she had paused. Instead, he lagged behind to light 
a cigar and then answered: 

“Don’t theorize, I’m dog tired. That room was 
abominably close, wasn’t it? And hasn’t Bob Mc- 
Nurney turned gray? He is only our age, too, isn’t 
he? I must say I think he married a girl who was 
much too good for him—did you notice how he acted 
towards her all evening? Not the second glance! 
I don’t like class reunions, after the first two or 
three years. Life is so darned inevitable. We all 
go the same deadly route of biliousness and dis¬ 
content. We become too fat or too thin, deaf or 
divorced or something damning and expensive, yet 
we come grunting and whining around the banquet 
table to pretend we are still brimming with that 
234 


JUDD & JUDD 


235 


first, fine enthusiasm. We roar out the old songs 
and pant the yells and make lying fools of ourselves 
in speeches. Even the waiters smile at us. What’s 
the good of holding on to anything too long? Let 
youth and youthful memories fade out. It only stirs 
up regrets—and such affairs as this set us back four 
bones each and a night’s sleep. I must say Bob’s 
wife was the only beauty there—she was not a col¬ 
lege woman, either.” 

“She is pretty but very silly,” Blair was unable to 
refrain from adding, “you used to call her Muriel’s 
understudy. Only her father left her a fortune so 
she did it rather sooner than Muriel. She was 
painted like a model and no woman with any sense 
would wear full evening dress when she knew we 
would all be informally dressed. I thought Bob 
was ashamed of her—” 

“A fat chance he’d have for sympathy if he tried 
to tell me so. I call her a peach . . . you’re getting 
a little gray yourself, Blair, ever notice it?” 

“Um. It began when we lived out at the White 
Elephant,” Blair’s eyes were dark and rather dan¬ 
gerous looking. 

“By the way, I’m going to the Sterlings’ Thurs¬ 
day—Ollie is having a smoker and I ought to drop 
in for the looks of the thing. I have a good time, I 


236 


JUDD & JUDD 


admit—sometimes, I think we are prigs. We go 
around rendering an anvil chorus about everyone 
else, but do we ever stop to wonder what the people 
say about us? They must say something—at any 
rate about you,” a suggestion of overemphasis was 
on the last word. 

“Let them say things, it is good publicity to keep 
them talking,” Blair retorted, shaking the snow from 
her furs. They entered the apartment house to 
find an incapacitated elevator. “Well, here is where 
we ascend the Eiffel tower for the fourth time inside 
of a week.” 

Panting upstairs, Tony burst out, “Fll wager they 
say, ‘Poor Judd, he thought he was rather smart, 
once upon a time—must have been an awful jolt 
when he came to. Just now, he looks as if he needed 
a better tailor. But his wife has outdistanced him, 
all right—advertising manager for a knitting mills 
—club woman, all that—has trained her family 
like a troupe of acrobats, they jump through the 
hoop when she gives the signal—used to be a pretty 
girl—great, blue eyes—sunshiny hair—her father 
and husband thought her domestic but she was not 
to forego the spotlight—so—she—woof, Pm dashed 
if we don’t apply for the first ground floor flat 
available—” Tony had reached the top landing. 


JUDD & JUDD 


237 


Too tired to answer, Blair let him unlock the 
door. A few moments later, Tony wilfully selected a 
deadly looking cigar and a detective story, despite 
the late hour. Blair determined to answer him. 

‘‘That was cheap of you,” she began steadily, “I 
don’t like to hear you say cheap things. I mean 
about class reunions—and then me. You have 
never recovered from my earning almost as much 
money as you do,” her temper gained over steadi¬ 
ness. “You’ve never been big enough to see my 
viewpoint—although your own is quite small. It 
may take another generation before men can do that. 
But I shall train my children to realize each have 
rights as well as duties and unless they exercise 
them somewhat equally, usually the woman, as the 
old melodrama teaches, will be the loser. You are 
lots nicer than most men, Tonibus, but you have 
chosen a stupid, stale role to play. I’ve never told 
you this before and if it makes you care less, I re¬ 
fuse to be sorry.” 

“Please stop,” he said curtly, opening his book, 
“you and theories—and frumpiness! You forgot 
to include that. All very well for you with a salary 
and my income and my aunt here at home and my— 
my good nature,” he added hastily, “to talk as you 
do. But think of me with the responsibility of a 


238 


JUDD & JUDD 


business and no one at home to buck me up. I’m 
going to sell the first chance I get and take a posi¬ 
tion—at least, I’ll know where I’m at.” 

“Let me help you,” she asked, “together—” 

“Impossible. I’d do better asking Aunt Agnes 
for snappy suggestions.” 

“It is not impossible—it is logical if you would 
but see it. Share home responsibilities and let me 
share business. If we unite in affection why not in 
duty? You are so narrow, so provincial, Tony—so 
behind times.” 

“Of course—most assuredly—the universe is 
wrong with the exception of Mrs. Blair Norcross 
Judd,” Tony began his story. 

Blair smiled in spite of herself. “Poor Tony,” 
she said with maddening pity, “you’ll have to see the 
truth of things sometime, discard your masculine 
inhibitions—” 

“See what?” darting up in spite of himself, “I 
can see that you are the most cold-blooded, self- 
willed woman I ever knew. You do what you want 
to do—” 

“Who has it harmed? Who has it cost any¬ 
thing?” she asked with practical brutality. “Are 
we not living more affluently than if we depended 
on you and you alone? Am I more tired or nerv- 


JUDD & JUDD 


239 


ous or frumpy than when I stayed home ‘to buck 
you up’ and you would not discuss business with me 
because I could not be expected to understand—I 
was not in touch with the outside world? Are the 
children undisciplined weaklings? You know they 
are not. Even your aunt admits I have not been 
away more than the social butterfly or professional 
invalid. My own mother, I remember, was ill in a 
rest home for months at a time. She died when I 
was twelve. If anyone pays for my stand for ex¬ 
pression, cosmic continuity, I am the one. And I 
am willing to pay—please understand me. I am 
willing to turn gray, wrinkled, withered, die at fifty 
from nerve exhaustion if I have succeeded in start¬ 
ing the wedge that my children will widen. I’ll have 
proved a wife need not be a nonentity, after she has 
been educated to be otherwise. If husbands won t 
do their part in this big problem, of course the wives 
will be failures. You, who complain of being dis¬ 
interested in early associations, discontented with 
your wife, unsuccessful—it is because you won’t 
play a straight game. You will distort your case un¬ 
til you produce a crisis. Well, I’ll not flinch. If 
only you would be honest in admitting my right to 
justify an education, you’d find yourself discard¬ 
ing the delusion about women being domestic 


240 


JUDD & JUDD 


doves or vultures. In its place would come whole¬ 
some, enduring camaraderie. Once and for all, you 
can neither bully nor coax. If you try, it will not 
be a question of my being here more but of my not 
being here less. Everyone has a definite, proper 
place. I have found mine and am oriented. Why 
cheat me out of it under the guise of being a good 
husband?” 

He told himself it was small use putting his cards 
on the table, Blair only used them to play back 
against him. So he did uot answer. 

In a moment, Blair went away while Tony puffed 
vigorously at his cigar and continued the crime 
story, hoping devoutly there would be a murder in 
the first chapter. 

In January, before their wedding anniversary, 
he came home gray of cheek, pathetically tired. 
Blair had sent for him. Her father had been taken 
ill on the road and they wired her to come. Togeth¬ 
er, they took the journey west which ended in reach¬ 
ing Kansas City an hour after Mr. Norcross died. 
In the pained excitement of the moment, their 
temporary rift was forgotten. 

For days afterwards, Tony could not bring him¬ 
self to tell Blair that on the date her father had been 
taken with heart seizure, he had offered his busi- 


JUDD & JUDD 


241 


ness for sale, dismissed his small force and applied, 
with success, for a position with Carson and Scott. 
He had been taken back at a much less salary than 
he would have had had he stayed with them, they 
did not mention a bonus or common stock for a 
Christmas present. They did mention his wife’s 
ability and the fact they had written asking if she 
cared to come over and talk terms. 

In February, Tony took up his new position. In 
February, he succeeded in selling his business, the 
small price enabling him to pay off bills and get new 
clothes. The sense of lifted responsibility was im¬ 
measurable. He was free to indulge in that deadly 
pastime of reconsidering the past, trying to estimate 
where he had made his worst mistakes, when he 
should have achieved success. He emerged from 
the experience feeling he had not had a fair trial, he 
had been hampered, discouraged. As things now 
stood, he made a fair living without risking every 
cent in the world. His keen, dissatisfied mind began 
casting about for some side line which might sup¬ 
plant his income in a modest way. He laughed at 
himself for this spurt of ambition but decided to 
underwrite insurance in a modest way. He realized 
that he must plan for the proverbial rainy day. 
Apartment house life was easy but it left him with a 


242 


JUDD & JUDD 


zero bank account. A house and garden was a 
tangible possession, it would give a sense of security. 
Perhaps, before too long, he might buy such a 
possession for he had qualms as to the future of his 
recent agency, although its new owner seemed op¬ 
timistic and capable. 

Tony had hesitated before selling to his ambitious 
purchaser, yet he accepted her terms feeling that he 
would be acknowledged as right, if she should fail 
in her handling of the business. 

For his purchaser was Blair Norcross Judd who 
used her father’s small legacy to release Tony from 
his financial obligations. 

Tony carried off the deal in high handed manner. 
“Certain you are not going to regret this?” he asked 
as Blair named the time and place for the signing 
of legal papers. “Funny sort of thing, isn’t it? 
Selling the business to my wife, taking back my old 
position—wonder how it’ll end?” 

Blair was intent on figures. She glanced up at 
Tony’s half reverie, half question. “No telling,” 
she answered easily, “I may fail and have to take to 
making tea biscuit. I may succeed and have a ready 
made business for my children.” 

“You’ll discover that an independent venture is 
vastly different from being on a pay roll,” Tony 


JUDD & JUDD 


243 


told her. “In some ways, I’m not sorry you are go¬ 
ing to have the experience. Some people need 
drastic proof/’ 

“Don’t they though?” laying aside her pencil, 
“you poor, bewildered husband.” 

Tony smiled. “That’s the first comprehensive 
word you’ve spoken in ages.” 

Neither Blair nor Tony realized that the signif¬ 
icance of this transaction could best be expressed by 
saying as affairs stood now, it was Norcross and 
Judd! 


CHAPTER XXVII 


A year and a half later, Tony flattered himself he 
had solved the problem of self-preservation by a 
false interpretation. His aunt’s death, coming in 
the fall, suggested this solution. 

At this time, the Judds were still at Headquarters. 
The children were engrossed in school, Beatrice a 
long-legged, blue-eyed barbarian and his son an 
amiable, freckled person absorbed in baseball and 
cutting Sunday School. 

In the matter of religion, Blair and Tony had, 
long ago, smashed the traditions of all churches and 
been content playing around with the fragments. 
But what of their children, they had been forced 
to ask? Unless given the cultural background, 
which longstanding creeds offered, their future 
seemed without foundations! So they sent them to 
as tolerant an organization as was within walking 
distance and took pains to attend service at least once 
a month, upholding parental dignity. 

Blair’s independent agency had experienced neither 
244 


JUDD & JUDD 


245 


spectacular success nor humiliating failure. It was 
not what Blair had hoped it would be; it was more 
than Tony had anticipated. Tony was ashamed of his 
secret wish for Blair’s downfall. Briefly, Tony still 
suffered from old ideas for young wives. And Blair 
had departed from these ideas without justifica¬ 
tion. He felt she displayed lack of confidence in 
her husband when she became a wage earner and this 
could never have come to pass excepting she did 
not love him as he thought she had or as he loved 
her. Since love is all-powerful and prevailing, etc., 
etc., Tony comforted himself by reasoning that his 
great love had not been returned in full. Being a 
gentleman and a father, he did not suggest this to 
anyone, least of all to Blair. But he dwelt fondly on 
Blair’s initial housekeeping days when Tony was 
her only interest. He fancied he could trace her 
gradual revolution to the final mutiny. He was given 
to cynicism as he lingered and dilated on this mare’s 
nest. Blair did not love him! He conjured up in¬ 
stances to prove the assertion. Almost forgotten 
college flirtations, about which Blair laughed, be¬ 
came serious evidence. Either she had loved some¬ 
one else and he never knew it or else she was 
incapable of true, lasting affection. Tony had a 
remarkably fine time pitying himself. This con- 


246 


JUDD & JUDD 


elusion appealed to him and afforded more solace 
than the truth of the matter—that Blair loved him 
as she never could love anyone else, but she refused 
to turn doormat to prove the fact. 

He was content being a salaried man. The lifted 
responsibility far outweighed any whispers that 
“Judd wasn’t the big man we thought him.” He 
always comforted himself with “but Blair is not the 
girl I thought her—well, all life is a gamble.” 

He had grown a foreign looking mustache and 
become an authority on screen plays. He was 
fatherly towards the younger men; when they an¬ 
nounced their engagements, his smile was of pity 
as well as congratulation. He made radical plans 
for his son’s education and his daughter’s lack of 
the same. His daughter should not go to college 
unless she proved, beyond any doubt, that she pos¬ 
sessed a master mind. More and more, he believed 
such education for women was undesirable, he hoped 
someone would write a smashing article bearing him 
out. 

“I’ll write it,” Blair offered one time, when he 
expounded his opinion, “I am bitterly opposed to 
such education for women unless husbands have an 
equal share of another variety.” 

Tony discouraged any arguments with Blair. 


JUDD & JUDD 


247 


Both flattered themselves their home atmosphere was 
polite, even if strained. Their children never Saw 
nor heard anything but the well-bred, logical 
machinery of family life. Of their own accord, 
they abandoned Aunt Agnes as an authority. Blair 
was more touched than amused at the relentless 
shelving process. When she mentioned it to Tony, 
he pooh-poohed the idea and said the children loved 
their aunt as much as they ever did; all youngsters 
passed through a “smarty” stage, soon enough, their 
mother would be the next victim. Why was she 
always conjuring up some unpleasant situation? 

Blair admitted one lack at Headquarters, due to 
her being in business. Tony was polite when she 
did so, his heart warming over the confession. The 
children lacked proper social life. True, they were 
invited to parties, but were unable to repay the 
courtesies. Blair stayed at home to give Beatrice a 
birthday afternoon, she spent as much disposition 
as money arranging the table and favors, providing 
a game programme with prizes. Beatrice wore a 
new frock and her brother was wretched but artistic 
in a pongee blouse and velvet trousers. Nearly all 
the children came, but they were shy and con¬ 
strained. They had never been to see Beatrice Judd 
and they did not know her mother. Their mothers 


248 


JUDD & JUDD 


shoved them in the door with a brief, “so good of 
you to ask my child” or sent them with a maid, call¬ 
ing for them in like fashion. They did not know 
Beatrice Judd’s mother either. 

Blair had to wrack her brains to find an assistant 
for the party, Roxy was out of the question, her 
other friends were, more or less, engaged in regular 
routines. In despair, and because Beatrice demanded 
it, she asked Muriel Sterling, who was hailed as 
nothing short of a fairy queen because of her silver 
tissue gown and wonderful rings. She was counted 
far lovelier than “Beatrice Judd’s mother who wore 
a dyed silk dress and queer shoes.” 

Beatrice complained about this situation. “You 
don’t know the mothers,” she accused in her direct 
fashion, “you never come to dancing class or 
morning assemblies. When Sonny was in the 
Cave Twins play, not even Aunt Agnes came. 
I don’t like you to be so unthinking of us, 
mother.” 

It was Blair’s turn to be hurt. With severity, 
she asked herself where she had failed with her 
children? Her one boast was that she had not neg¬ 
lected the family because she paid attention to her 
own brain. Their diet, clothing, education, recrea¬ 
tion and so on were open to the most careful 


JUDD & JUDD 


249 


inspection. She had bribed the janitor that her 
son might be proud owner of a small terrier and she 
was almost jocular on the subject of how many 
articles he destroyed weekly. Beatrice had love 
birds and a row of potted plants which she coaxed 
into blossom, Blair could enumerate numberless 
activities and ideas which she fostered as well as 
originated. Yet she did not know the other 
mothers! She was conscious of lacking that 
gracious, easy fashion of playing hostess. She was 
becoming angular—no doubt of it—her belts were 
constantly being taken in. She no longer demurred 
over wearing a felt sailor to the office because it was 
weather proof and required no adjustment. Long 
ago, she abandoned weekly hair treatments. She 
wondered if her family would call her a “nice, silly 
lovely” as they once did when living at the Bunga- 
high. She manicured her nails in snatches and wore 
flat shoes. But why should externals determine des¬ 
tiny? Why should a child’s naive criticism cause a 
sleepless, inquisitional night? 

She did not tell Tony that she was perplexed. She 
had learned he would seize upon any opportunity 
to drive home the fact of his dissatisfaction. Blair 
never doubted Tony’s love, only she was not con¬ 
cerned with love these days. Business taxed her 


250 


JUDD & JUDD 


energies. She made as much money as Tony, not 
counting his underwriting insurance. Together— 
yet separately—they lived well but carelessly. Blair 
had been unable to save, she had so many places 
for her money and the children’s expenses she met 
almost without exception. Tony did not attempt to 
save. Unable to heretofore, he felt no urge to deny 
himself any luxuries he wished. Since discovering 
that Blair did not love him as she should, he felt 
entitled to all manner of compensations. 

When, from mistaken but kindly motives, Blair 
engaged Leon Caspar as an advertising solicitor, 
Tony was possessed of a violent resentment. He had 
been jealous of Leon as well as disliking him person¬ 
ally. Blair labored to explain that Leon had been 
ill due to weak lungs, he had been sent to a state 
sanitarium for nine months. He had, no doubt, for¬ 
gotten his erratic ideas. He had no immediate 
family or resources and he promised Blair he would 
write no more poems, in addition to foregoing 
cigarettes. He was just a sick young thing, she 
said, surely, she could do no less than give him a 
chance. 

“I thought he was so devoted to you,” Tony ob¬ 
jected, “has he changed in that, too? Perhaps I 
was wrong—but it was my impression from some- 


JUDD & JUDD 


251 


thing Roxy said. You never told me,” again he re¬ 
minded himself that Blair did not love him. 

Blair’s face crimsoned. So Roxy actually insin¬ 
uated things! The absurdity of the situation caused 
a spirited defense of Leon. 

‘‘Can’t you see I am doing what an older sister 
would do? Gracious, Tony, I am almost thirty- 
five and Leon is twenty-seven. I’m showing him 
how he can walk on his own feet—if he does as I 
say. I’ve talked to him as if I were a judge and 
letting him out on probation. Roxy makes me cross 
—how comes it she has time to invent such non¬ 
sense? She’ll be believing in fairies if she isn’t care¬ 
ful.” 

“Do you like him?” Tony ignored her reply. 

“Not much, but I’m sorry for him. I believe him 
harmless and capable of doing fair work. He is one 
of those persons not sufficiently talented to warrant 
his being excused from the daily grind. That is 
what has fretted his soul. I’m the only person offer¬ 
ing him work. If you can dig up a better job, 
please do it and I’ll send him around tomorrow 
morning. I’m not expecting he will do me credit, 
I count it as one variety of charity.” 

“If Leon was a girl,” Tony persisted, “would you 
be so keen-” 



JUDD & JUDD 


252 

Blair’s indignant eyes caused him to change the 
subject and ask if she had saved yesterday’s morning 
paper. The subject was not resumed. 

This had been in the early summer—when Aunt 
Agnes began failing. After which Roxy remained 
away from Blair. Roxy wore even more tempera¬ 
mental costumes, alarming her friends with her sud¬ 
den frivolity and neglect of work. 

“Roxy’s trying to be twenty-one—and under the 
mistletoe,” was one caustic summary of the situa¬ 
tion. 

Blair had endeavored to waylay Roxy and dis¬ 
cover in just what direction she was heading, but 
Roxy was unresponsive, making it clear she did not 
care for confidences. Offended and disapproving, 
Blair turned her energies back to business and the 
family. 

Polly and Bill Farnsworth had arrived in town 
for an extended stay with relatives. It was their 
first visit to America since their marriage and Blair, 
who promptly went to call, found an entirely dif¬ 
ferent Polly from the one for whom she had been 
matron of honor. 

Very sure of herself and pleased with her ap¬ 
pearance, Polly, in a cobwebby lace dress, regarded 
Blair with more pity than interest. Poor, provincial 


JUDD & JUDD 


253 


Blair—what worlds apart she was from Polly’s 
sophisticated sphere. 

“So you’re in business, old girl,” she began with 
an assiduously cultivated accent, “how jolly! Every¬ 
one’s trying it on the other side—this very frock 
came from the shop of the Honorable Nancy Cher- 
riton, you’ve heard of her, of course? Always done 
smashing things—hunted big game in Africa, a 
royal scandal, two marvellous husbands. She’s con¬ 
sidered the last syllable as a modiste—but tell me 
about yourself.” 

“There is not much to tell,” Blair answered lame¬ 
ly, “Tony is back with Carson and Scott and I have 
his old offices, not as gorgeous as he had them, but 
doing fairly well. The children are dears and Tony’s 
aunt is far from well. We live in an apartment 
which you will soon enough see, for I want you to 
come for dinner on Friday. We’re still planning 
for a real home—something like yours must be. 
Tony was entranced with it.” 

“Why don’t you get it?” asked Polly with the 
privileged curiosity of an old friend. “It would help 
in business. The Honorable Nancy Cherriton 
trades heavily on living part of the year at a Tudor 
country seat, mortgaged to the moat between our¬ 
selves, but little that matters.” 


254 


JUDD & JUDD 


“I won’t get anything I cannot afford,” Blair in¬ 
formed her, “besides, the servant problem is no 
small matter on this side and houses have never had 
the reputation for running themselves—we moved 
into the apartment because it was convenient all 
around.” 

“Oh, then you went into business for the money 
in it and not the lark? That is a different story,” 
Polly was thoughtful, a trifle disappointed. “The 
women I know in London go into business for the 
fun of it—a new sort of toy—understand? Lady 
Aloise Huckstep ha$ the duckiest book shop, she 
never advertises because she only wants a certain 
class of purchasers. It is on the top loft of a 
sixteenth century house and she serves tea every 
afternoon. Sometimes our dramatic club has re¬ 
hearsals there in the evening. Lady Huckstep car¬ 
ries a remarkable stock of naughty things you can’t 
buy elsewhere. It’s always a crush when she gets 
us on the wire and says she has a new flock of 
novels. The smartest women in town crowd down 
and squabble over them. Lady Huckstep is a naughty 
novel herself, she is the snaky sort that can carry 
off bare-foot sandals and rainbow smocks. She 
gives readings in French, it is considered a feat to 
get a card. I have been twice.” 


JUDD & JUDD 


255 


“Has sheiany family ?” 

“Four of them—down in Torquay. Her husband 
is a perfectly good thing but dull. He can’t keep 
pace with her. He was gassed besides, so he prefers 
the country. But he’s very convenient—she can trot 
him out whenever convention demands. I don’t 
believe she would try to get away with all she does 
unless she had a husband to refer to occasionally. 
Then there is Violet Boltwood, I’ve never seen a 
more fascinating little tobacco shop than Vi’s (she 
asked me to call her by her given name)—she sells 
Russian cigarettes and cunning jewelled pipes and 
she dresses in the smartest smoking suits, trim, satin 
trousers and brave little jackets with gold lace frogs 
like a general’s pajamas ought to have. Vi has an 
enormous income, so she has her fun refusing to 
sell to people she does not like, turning them off 
cold, she says she never had true social independence 
until she took to trade. Then the Doyle girls—their 


“I wish,” interrupted Blair, “your Nancy Cherri- 
ton and all the rest would come to grips with reality 
and then decide whether or not they wanted to re¬ 
main in business. Toys! Children and a gassed hus¬ 
band shunted into the country! Obscene novels 
allowed circulation because of a woman’s social 



256 


JUDD & JUDD 


standing—a tobacco shop where you play the snob. 
Polly, you can’t approve of such things!” 

“Everyone does it,” Polly was injured because 
her familiar jargon concerning the smarter set had 
failed to impress. “I may take to something myself. 

I often threaten Bill.” 

“What would be your reason?” 

“Because it happens to be the thing. Of course, 
some need the money, so they let the unwashed be 
their customers and supply it. Don’t you agree that 
a woman has to keep pace with whatever is the 
thing?” Polly asked with a trace of indignation. 

“No. So these women are not striving to bring 
about a better condition for women, the admittance 
on their husbands’ parts that they are capable of 
other interests save their homes?” 

“Of course not. It is because it is the thing,” 
Polly was impatient at having to repeat her reason. 
“It will pass soon enough, something else will be the 
thing, we may become mid-Victorian for a few sea¬ 
sons and take to lace mitts and blushing. This run¬ 
ning a business is a reaction after the freedom they 
had during the war, they couldn’t have gone back 
into drawing rooms without a detour. My word, 
freedom is a mild term!” 

“Then we don’t understand each other,” Blair 


JUDD & JUDD 


257 


said firmly, “I’ve had such a different time. I went 
into business to prove to Tony that he was wrong in 
his estimate of me. If we are to have a future to¬ 
gether, he must share his work as well as his heart. 
You remember how it was with us at college, how I 
did the things he did, how I was fairly successful; 
then we were so much in love that we forgot that for 
the time being—then we floundered out at the 
old White Elephant—after which, we floundered 
even more. At least, I did. The second baby came 
—we lived in an absurd house on the top of a hill 
and I did all the housework and went to no-delivery 
grocery stores and made meatless hash and trimmed 
my own hats—all so that Tony could go ahead in 
his own business. I felt as if something was dying 
inside my head. Sometimes, I believed it was my 
love for my husband. But I found out it was my 
own self-respect. And I’m no exception, Polly, you 
might have done the same if you had not become an 
expatriate. Oh, I tried to tell myself that my home 
and duties were all that mattered. It is a great lie 
and women have come to where they want to tell the 
truth. Some of us are brave—and foolish—enough 
to believe homes and outside interests can be made 
complementary, if our husbands will do their part. 
Tony has been the handsome, regulation type of 


258 JUDD & JUDD 

husband who felt I was all wrong and he would 
soon enough have the fun of hearing me admit that 
I was. When I didn’t, he took the usual attitude of 
letting me go ‘my own way’ and assuming the greater 
share of responsibility.” 

“You make my head ache,” protested Polly, “I 
can’t see why you grow thin and unattractive while 
Tony is a wonder in appearance; or why you drudge 
at an advertising agency when it is real work and it 
is not considered the thing. Why don’t you become 
known for something clever—and easy—almost 
anything goes if you get the right people to laugh 
and be impressed? I’m finding everything so 
changed here. Between ourselves, I really dread 
the visit—it is torture to adjust oneself, people ex¬ 
pect me to be as I was when I left them. I was a 
bride, terribly in love and tremendously proud of 
my simple little trousseau. Bill and I have learned 
to go our own ways, we are both broad-minded and 
we ask as few question as are decent. Why struggle 
for this co-operation thing when you are apt to be 
bored in the ultimate? But I can’t tell this to old 
friends, let alone the family! It is a tragedy, Blair, 
to visit people who have the right to call you by your 
first name.” 

Blair was glad to leave Polly. She felt, and truly, 


JUDD & JUDD 


259 


she would see little of her. Her dinner for the 
Arnolds proved an uncomfortable affair. The 
Arnolds felt they must prove their superiority by 
impressing the Judds and having a blase attitude 
towards everything said or done. Tony resented 
this, but he admired Polly tremendously. She had 
what Muriel Sterling lacked—breeding. 

After he saw them together, Muriel giving an 
evening for the Arnolds, which Blair and Tony at¬ 
tended, he realized that Polly in her tortoise-shell 
velvet draperies lacked what Muriel possessed—bluff. 
While Blair, in the passe peach colored taffeta, had 
that despised commodity—brains 1 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


Aunt Agnes's death had been a lingering, hard 
affair. She kept about until August, although Blair, 
hearing her moan at night, would often go to her 
room to find her in a pain-wrecked heap but refusing 
aid. 

In September, the doctor told them there was 
little to do but wait, her condition proving inopera¬ 
tive. Miss Judd’s old fashioned constitution and 
simple habits, he believed, but prolonged the agony. 
Whether she suspected this verdict, they never knew. 
With Tony, an infantile wrench at the great separa¬ 
tion, caused him to be awkward lest he betray his 
feelings, he was ill at ease, even irritable whenever 
he was in her presence. 

Blair betrayed little emotion. She was determined 
to carry out the pretense that this was a temporary 
illness. In the spring, Aunt Agnes would be her usual 
self. She remained undemonstrative but vigilant. 
Tony would bring his aunt flowers and books—only 
to rush away for the evening, trying to dismiss her 
260 


JUDD & JUDD 


261 


from his mind. Blair would remain home to read 
aloud—Aunt Agnes had a sudden flair for Trollope 
—and plan for the next summer’s vacation, the grim 
masquerade gradually exhausting her. 

In November, Aunt Agnes died. For a long week 
she lay breathing harshly, moaning now and then. 
The children kept away. Blair stayed home from 
her office. Tony came in frequently to see her, but 
he could not remain in the room. He never could 
bear to see people suffering or smashed up. He 
could stand it for himself, but not to see anyone 
else. He marvelled at Blair. The nurse, a matter 
of fact person with an indifferent attitude towards 
death, said it was not best for Mrs. Judd to remain 
so calm, Mr. Judd’s emotion was the normal way. 
She would rather Mrs. Judd cried or fainted. At 
this, Tony decided that Blair was lacking in general 
feeling. 

Before his aunt died, she told Tony and Blair, as 
a penitent gasps out a dark secret, her love tragedy. 
Holding their hands, she whispered that at eighteen, 
unknown to anyone, she married a bigamist whom 
she met while visiting in New York. Discovering 
the fraud, she told only her mother. Soon after¬ 
wards, she left to spend a year abroad—during 
which her child was stillborn. At first, she had been 


262 


JUDD & JUDD 


grateful for the deception, no one had ever suspected 
the circumstances. The man had died. But, grad¬ 
ually, she felt the urge to marry and be a mother 
again, yet life had passed her by. She was born to 
spinsterhood, everyone whispered. So she remained 
Miss Judd, inwardly rebellious, stifling the desire to 
tell her story and be rewarded by the world’s pity 
and acknowledgment of her experience. She hoped 
Blair and Tony would understand—sometimes, she 
had not been quite clear about it herself, she won¬ 
dered if she should have confessed to the world? 

After his first grief, Tony found himself amazed, 
almost disapproving his aunt’s story. From it re¬ 
sulted the conclusion that “you can never tell what 
has been or is going to be in anyone’s else life.” 
Blair suffered as a result of this conclusion. Had 
Blair loved someone else at eighteen? Would she 
love someone else at thirty-eight? Was she in¬ 
capable of love, an intellectual machine? If his aunt 
had “fooled” the world for half a century, why not 
Blair? How blind he had been! It was all very 
simple—she had ceased to love him and business 
was her counter-irritant to this condition. So Tony 
decided he must love himself a trifle harder, thus 
making up for Blair’s discrepancies. He added to 
this conclusion a mushroom corollary: there was 


JUDD & JUDD 


263 


small use trying to change things. One might as 
well quarrel with the color of one’s eyes. Things 
were! People must readjust themselves accordingly. 
Perhaps he was no worse off than most people, Blair 
was a loyal capable wife and they were, more or 
less, obligated in holding together because of the 
children. 

Almost immediately, Tony became rather fatherly 
towards Effie Cudahy, a nice little girl with appeal¬ 
ing brown eyes. Effie always minded her mother. 
Her pay envelope was handed over to mother with 
prompt willingness because Effie was handed back 
so much pocket money and the rest was used to dress 
Effie like any Winter Garden beauty. Effie was in 
charge of the switchboard, she did typewriting at 
intervals, intervals was right, according to the firm. 
She had any number of young cavaliers because 
Effie overworked the rumor that she always minded 
her mother, and the young cavaliers could not but 
approve this. If she minded her mother, she would 
mind her husband and this reputation won her a 
choice of escorts every night in the week and two on 
Sundays. 

Effie had long admired Tony Judd, he had such 
“grand, dark eyes—I’d choose him anyday, if my 
mother liked him, too.” Effie was awed by his 


264 


JUDD & JUDD 


education and club affiliations. She was slightly tart 
in manner when Blair and the children occasionally 
met him at his office. She considered Mrs. Judd 
very ordinary looking for such a husband. Why 
was she in business when she had a husband with 
such come-hither eyes? She could not understand 
it. 

Effie preferred older men, anyway, she taunted 
her salad-day followers. Older men were so—oh, 
protecting and generous. They knew in advance 
what you wanted to do and then, if you happened 
to change your mind—they were not cross. She was 
not going to be any young man’s slave. Her mother 
had told her not to be. But she continued to collect 
candy and invitations from the youths while she 
spent the firm’s time dreaming of Anthony Judd. 
She thrilled with excitement if he asked her to get 
him a number or if the water-cooler had been re¬ 
filled. Judging from the infrequent and common¬ 
place conversations with his wife, Effie felt there 
was a fair chance of supplanting the present Mrs. 
Judd. Not that she wanted to be a home-wrecker, 
unless her mother should give the command. But 
wasn’t Mr. Judd grand and weren’t his ways com¬ 
pelling, what a beautiful voice and such taste in neck¬ 
ties ! Actually, she longed to faint—if she could re- 


JUDD & JUDD 


265 


main a trifle conscious—and have him carry her to 
the rest room, saying in a solicitous whisper, “Poor 
little girl, she has been working beyond her strength! 
This must not happen again.” 

This was as far as Effie’s vamping ambitions ex¬ 
tended. There was little doubt but what she would 
marry one of the callow youths and divert her pow¬ 
ers of phantasy into her cooking. Her adoration, 
however, had it’s effect upon Tony. He became 
aware that Effie blushed every time he looked at her, 
that she answered his calls as if they were for the 
nearest fire house, she lingered gracefully outside the 
office until he appeared and they could stroll to the 
corner. Once, she ate next him at a cafeteria and 
gave him her portion of top milk for coffee. When 
he paid her car fare one night, riding on out to her 
house because it was raining and she had no umbrella, 
Effie felt she could not mar the episode by going to 
a mere neighborhood dance that same evening. 

Tony was amused but not displeased by her hom¬ 
age. He humorously alluded to himself as an 
“ancient married man” but he, too, lingered at the 
switchboard and sometimes tossed her a flower or 
box of candy. He told himself she was a nice little 
girl, there was no harm in his attentions. He missed 
her when she was away, due to a cold. He sent 


266 


JUDD & JUDD 


flowers, enclosing his business card. She thanked 
him so prettily, he told himself he hoped this little 
girl married the right man. He longed to advise 
her more in detail. 


* 


CHAPTER XXIX 


One December day, Roxy invaded Tony’s office. 
Tony was still suffering from his pretended dis¬ 
covery that Blair no longer loved him and rather 
consoled by Effie Cudahy’s flapper adoration. He 
was somewhat confused when Roxy, without intro¬ 
duction or preliminaries, asked what Blair fancied 
she was doing with young Leon Caspar? 

“What do you mean?” returned Tony, equally 
bluff. He was gazing at Roxy’s composite ballet and 
business costume, realizing she looked forty if a 
day. 

“Blair is not fair with any of us,” Roxy com¬ 
plained. “I am disappointed in her. You ought to 
be. I am hoping Leon will be.” 

“Why?” on Blair’s side instantly and forgetful 
of Effle Cudahy. 

“Because she must have left off caring about you, 
although she may have neglected mentioning it,” 
Roxy waved her hands excitedly. Tony saw her 
fingernails were cut into a point and highly polished. 

267 


268 


JUDD & JUDD 


His eyebrows drew together in an annoyed frown. 
“See here,” he began firmly, “don’t start trouble. 
Besides, these walls are made of paper. As Blair’s 
best friend, you have nothing to cry, ‘Wolf’ over.” 

“Haven’t I?” Roxy’s eyes sparkled angrily, 
“wait and see. Ask Blair on Christmas day what 
Leon has given her. I happen to know, because I 
made it my business, that he must be either starving 
or stealing in order to buy her a magnificent ring. A 
sapphire surrounded with diamonds—how do you 
like that ? She has deliberately fascinated him—for 
he has a poet’s soul and is unsuspecting. I 
blame Blair for Leon’s breakdown, before he came 
to work for her. Not satisfied with doing that to 
him, she has won him back into her tuppenny busi¬ 
ness as a solicitor, only on a commission at that, 
lets him go on offering his love and youth and-” 

“Wait a moment. Blair cannot afford to pay 
such a person as Caspar a decent salary. He is not 
worth office space. I argued against her taking him 
back but she persisted in it because she was sorry 
for him. Why, Blair does not care as much for 
Leon as I for you,” he ended with convincing rude¬ 
ness. 

“I only wish I could believe it,” Roxy flung back, 
“when I know how much the boy cares for her. It 



JUDD & JUDD 


269 


is so unfair. If she cannot bring herself to love 
him, she ought not play with him, cripple his future. 
She ought to be square enough to send him awaj^ in 
no uncertain fashion. She has never realized the 
fineness of his make-up, how misunderstood he is 
apt to be. This ring will cost him-” 

“What is this about a ring?” Tony interrupted. 
(He had wondered all morning what trifle—trifle, 
remember—he could give that little girl at the 
switchboard.) 

“He is buying it for her Christmas, mortgaging 
his very life to pay for it, misrepresenting his 
securities. If he cannot meet the payments he will 
be in serious trouble,” Roxy answered sharply, “I 
have made it my concern to know what he is doing. 
I am not crying wolf falsely, old enemy of mine. 
If you are any sort of a man, you’ll bring this thing 
to an issue. I’m warning you because-” 

“Because you have fallen for Leon,” Tony en¬ 
joyed her discomfiture, “it’s nothing to be ashamed 
of, my dear—only don’t try to disguise it under 
Blair’s name. Don’t become agitated—I have no in¬ 
tention of publishing these facts. Personally, I’d 
rather you picked out a life sized proposition and 
had a little sense-” 

Choking with rage, Roxy started to go. “You 




27 o 


JUDD & JUDD 


will come to see that I am right,” she ended threaten¬ 
ingly, “you’ll have to take steps—Blair is not playing 
fair—the boy is in danger, he loves her so much that 
he-” 

“Leave my wife’s name out of this,” ordered 
Tony, “for heaven’s sake, find someone your own 
age if not your brain power.” 

Roxy’s visit both angered and shamed him. He 
felt Blair must be getting into situations beyond her 
depth. He went home, forgetting to smile at Effie, 
and had a tense few moments with Blair during 
which he blurted out Roxy’s accusations only to be 
exasperated by Blair’s indifference. 

“If you don’t love Leon,” he said in desperation, 
“and you don’t love me, you probably love yourself— 
isn’t that logical ? Oh, the children, of course—but 
I mean as a woman loves someone as you once said 
you loved me. How do you think a man likes to 
have a wild-brained person like Roxy come bursting 
into his office to report that his wife is being wor¬ 
shipped and given expensive jewelry by a low order 
of animal life?” 

“Time will prove that is untrue,” Blair interrupted 
in an equally high handed manner. “He would not 
dare to do such a thing. As for my not loving you, 
of course I love you but there are other, more im- 


JUDD & JUDD 


271 


portant things in life beside romantic love. True, 
it is the essential basis for any marriage—but only 
the basis. Why does the world frown on uncon¬ 
ventional affairs? Have you ever thought of that? 
Because intrigues over-emphasize this same ro¬ 
mance you would like to keep paramount. Intrigues 
waste and drain energy and focus attention which 
should be directed elsewhere. They cause the 
neglect of imperative, impersonal obligations. The 
result is always chaos. This urge for philandering 
is often an unrecognized urge for larger self-ex¬ 
pression—why cling to the worn-out platform that 
if a woman puts on her hat and takes the same path 
out of her house that her husband follows, she is 
unwomanly, does not love him? He returns to his 
house—can she not do the same?” 

“I loved you so much when we married,” Tony 
avoided the main issue, his eyes burning with a red¬ 
dish, unpleasant light, “I thought you loved me the 
same. I am sorry if you do not—and of course, 
you cannot help it. But you cannot expect me to 
continue being sorry. I don’t doubt but what you 
will be capable of handling Caspar, throwing him 
out if he tries to be impossible. You have had some 
practise at it, if I may remind you. You are always 
clear headed, Blair. I suppose I’ve bothered you by 


2J2 


JUDD & JUDD 


saying all this. Only you may as well know that 
I realize the real reason you turned to outside in¬ 
terests.” 

“You are childishly stubborn,” she began. 

“You have stabbed something in me,” Tony ans¬ 
wered with matinee fervor. 

She caught his arm as he tried to pass by. “Please 
wait. Has it occurred to you that you have not 
told me that you loved me for a long time? Think 
back-” 

He looked down at her thin face, the deep sea 
blue eyes challenging him to answer carefully. 

“Perhaps,” he admitted shortly. “I only know 
something has vanished from our marriage that 
made it the most precious thing in my life. I’ll do 
my best to carry on just as you are doing, but don’t 
let’s try fooling each other about the exact situation. 
You are right, theoretically—so is Roxy for that 
matter—so is Leon Caspar—perhaps everyone is! 
Perhaps it is a large enough world to get by in—it 
was just our home that was not large enough to 
satisfy you.” 

He turned, mystified himself as to just where 
Blair stood in the matter and what would be the 
outcome. 

Tony’s Christmas shopping was interesting. He 


JUDD & JUDD 


273 


bought Effie Cudahy a handsome bottle of perfume 
and another of toilet water. He purged himself of 
the deed by affording the best steel construction set 
the town contained, which offering to his son was 
matched by his daughter’s new furs and a good- 
looking but unromantic umbrella for Blair. 

Blair went through the holiday rush with a feeling 
of unpleasant anticipation—as a child she had called 
a similar emotion her “going-to-the-dentist feeling.” 
She dreaded the day before Christmas lest Leon 
attempt to give her some unsuitable present and she 
be forced to discharge him. He had become so ob¬ 
noxious to her that she determined to find him a new 
position in January. She was hotly resentful of 
Roxy, although she understood her friend’s patho¬ 
logical transition from an absorbing career to an 
absorbing romance. Roxy was sowing her mild-oats 
twenty years too late. 

On December twenty-fourth, Blair stayed at her 
office after the others had gone. She wanted to 
plan undisturbed. As she glanced at her ledgers, 
she knew the year had netted only a fair return. 
And she had paid dearly for the same. Ideas were 
no longer fertile, plentiful things for which she had 
only to wish. She had to struggle for them. Office 
responsibilities told upon her. It was her turn to 


274 


JUDD & JUDD 


secretly envy Tony’s position as he had once envied 
her own. She had frequent headaches—and nothing 
fit to wear to the symphony concerts for which she 
had subscribed. She wished Muriel would not send 
expensive presents for the children’s Christmas and 
Peter Cabana would desist his waylaying her to 
semi-spoof her for being such a success. She almost 
wished they had planned to go out for the 'holiday 
dinner instead of struggling with a turkey single 
handed, due to her maid’s demand for the holiday. 
She wished she could afford a really competent as¬ 
sistant—how often Tony used to say the same thing. 
She hoped that Beatrice’s teeth would straighten of 
their own accord and her son stop his recently 
acquired habit of bloodying the noses of his best 
friends. It was a gray, troubled world, according 
to Blair, as she looked down at the bundle-laden 
passers-by. 

(At this same time, Tony was presenting Effie 
with her present. How it happened, neither knew, 
but they mutually agreed to have just a smile of ice 
cream and cake at a nearby hotel—they were tete-a- 
tete over a candlelit table, in no time, Effie in the 
seventh heaven of rapture and her appointed escort 
waiting near the office door in vain.) 

A rap at the entrance door to her office suite 


JUDD & JUDD 


275 


brought Blair back to earth. With misgivings, she 
took the package from the messenger boy. It proved 
a jeweller’s box. Locking the door, as if she needed 
extra fortification, she went back to her desk before 
she opened it. Roxy’s prophecy had been true. 
Blair was forced to contemplate the bold sparkle 
of a diamond and sapphire ring, how paid for heaven 
only knew—to read on the bit of paper wrapped 
about its gold band, Leon’s frenzied declaration of 
his love; would she wear this ring in the pledge of 
friendship and hope of future happiness? 

Inconsistently, Blair slipped the ring on her finger 
—it sparkled and mocked her. Also inconsistently, 
she wished Tony had given it to her—she would 
have delighted in wearing it. In imagination, she 
saw Leon’s pale, inspired self and Roxy’s bizarre, 
denouncing person on one side of her and Tony and 
the children on the other. Such phantasy was ab¬ 
surd—on Christmas eve when the tree must be 
trimmed, the turkey dressing made, gifts arranged! 

For another moment, she sat in distressed reverie, 
admitting that in trying to do too much, she was 
doing too little. She was a contradictory opinionated 
woman with an unfortunate education! She con¬ 
tinued to address scathing remarks to herself as she 
re-wrapped the ring box and typewrote a forcible, 


276 


JUDD & JUDD 


threatening dismissal. As she took the letter from 
the machine, she admitted that Tony had been right 
—and she must tell him so. Undoubtedly, there 
would be more useless words and futile explanations, 
always that renewal of controversy—why was she 
not at home? Well, he knew the reason—if he 
would but admit it. 

Inwardly, Blair was hysterical as she called for 
a messenger boy and waited his tardy appearance. 
She found herself washing her hands with violent 
gestures, as if she felt contaminated from her casual 
trying on of the ring. Yet struggle as she would 
to become indignant, haughty—all she really wished 
to have done to Leon was a proper chastisement. 

Then, in the climax and turmoil of yearly inven¬ 
tory and personal tangles, Blair found herself turn¬ 
ing traitor to her own cause. She was wishing she 
had not worn such a plain gown when Tony ac¬ 
cused her of not loving him. (Heavens, was she 
such a complete turncoat, hypocrite—could she ever 
believe herself?) She wished she had worn say— 
a housecoat of orchid chiffon, she could have con¬ 
vinced him she still cared and he would have for¬ 
gotten Roxy and Leon. 

Blair roused herself with a mental jerk. If she 
indulged in this sort of thing, where would she end ? 


JUDD & JUDD 


277 


Next month would see their twelfth anniversary. 
Tony had already told her that he must be out of 
town, she had planned to celebrate with her children. 

(By now, Tony and Effie Cudahy concluded their 
ice cream and were taking a taxi to Effie’s home, 
because the weather was bad and Effie admitted she 
was tired. Never before had Tony realized what 
a beautiful little thing she was, a dear home-loving 
little girl. Effie was praying heaven her waiting es¬ 
cort had abandoned his post or would not notice the 
whirling-by cab.) 


CHAPTER XXX 


Blair lingered in the office after a messenger had 
taken away both ring and note. But she did not 
cry—she thought! She was determined to be 
optimistic in her desire to make Tony see wherein 
he lacked, prevent the children’s suspecting there 
could be a rift in their home. She must give them 
more time, create more of her own atmosphere in 
the home—but, she must have a different sort of 
home. She wanted, as originally, only a part time 
interest in business just as Tony should have been a 
true partner in the home and not its master. She did 
not enjoy becoming shabby and tired, she resented 
the thin spots in her hair, the dullness of her nails. 
True, she earned an excellent amount of money and 
Tony seemed satisfied, if not too ambitious, with his 
present position. But what Blair really wanted, 
shamed that she was of the desire, was to return 
home, not into a kitchen but a drawing room l She 
wanted to become, for a time, a modish matron, a 
self-indulgent mother—oh, if only Tony could inherit 
278 


JUDD & JUDD 


279 

a gold mine as well as develop a new set of con¬ 
victions—how wonderful everything might be. But 
this possibility being remote, she was more likely to 
become a forlorn near-blonde who began buying the 
right sort of clothes ten years too late. 

It was six o'clock. Blair started up in alarm. 
Tony was returning from Effie’s house, so he did 
not know of her tardiness. The children were at 
the evensong of carols, so they did not know of it. 
Leon had received her angry dismissal and had 
recklessly thrown the unpaid for ring away, so he 
did not know about it. No one knew or cared. 
Blair put on her storm coat and woolen gloves, 
turned off the lights, drew the shades, left a note 
for the janitor about a leaking radiator as well as 
his Christmas fee and started towards the door. 

She felt humiliated—as if her thoughts had be¬ 
come public talk. Was it all a bluff, a pose—her 
years of independent effort? That no one actually 
knew her turbulent self-confession did not relieve 
the unrest. She felt brittle of purpose, shallow of 
mind. A horrible Christmas present—to suddenly 
become aware one is not what they have labored to 
convince everyone else they are! 

As Blair drove to the apartment, she felt a trifle 
younger than the sphinx but infinitely more of a 


28 o 


JUDD & JUDD 


mystery. She forced herself to tell Tony about 
Leon’s gift—unromantically, she stuffed the turkey 
as she did so, clad in a protecting but not alluring 
apron. 

“I discharged him under threat of arrest if he 
attempts to bother me again,” she said, with drastic 
gestures directed towards the helpless fowl. “I in¬ 
tend writing Roxy a frank letter. After that, if we 
cannot be friends, I’ll not feel culpable. If she is 
in love with Leon, it is moon-madness—hand me 
that needle and thread, will you, please? I’ll baste 
him up tonight—gives a better flavor if you do. 
Thanks. I must say Sigmund’s sent us a very decent 
bird—so many are cold storage unless you personal¬ 
ly pick them out-” 

The guilt of Effie’s ten dollar perfume and 
toilet water outlay softened Tony’s triumph into a 
rather commonplace, “Ah, my dear, I was afraid 
of this, but you have acted wisely” sort attitude. 

They fell talking of the children’s gifts, the weath¬ 
er, lack of traffic direction. By the time the tree 
was trimmed and the gifts arranged underneath, it 
was midnight. Blair went to bed wishing she had 
the power to sleep through until the new year and 
waken finding herself shanghaied aboard a Medi¬ 
terranean-bound steamer where she could do nothing 



JUDD & JUDD 


281 


more consequential than lie in a steamer chair and 
flag the steward’s passing tea cart. 

Leon did not appear at Blair’s office for the excel¬ 
lent reason that he was arrested for non-payment 
of the ring. Having flung it poetically into the 
barge canal, he was unable to retrieve the same. 
Therefore, he was accused of procuring goods 
under false pretenses. He proceeded to faintly 
slash away at his wrists with a ladylike pen knife, 
which gave rise to sensational headlines about 
the “attempted suicide of Leon Caspar, advertising 
solicitor for Mrs. Blair Norcross Judd”—the story 
containing unpleasant hints that Blair was the person 
for whom the ring was fraudulently obtained. 

While Leon languished in jail, fuming over the 
situation and feeling reassured because of Roxy’s 
defense of him, Tony saw that the papers hushed 
up the thing. His attitude towards Blair was prig¬ 
gish. He knew that she was in no way to blame, 
except for her hiring Leon against his advice. But 
this reflected on them both—her name in headlines 
in connection with the ring and an attempted suicide 
—Mrs. Blair Norcross Judd—ugh, that set his teeth 
on edge. He knew well the power of a daily paper 
is transitory but neighbors and business associates 
would never forget the incident. It encouraged 


282 


JUDD & JUDD 


rumors, which he detested. He was glad that his 
aunt and Blair’s father were not alive to agonize over 
the situation. The children were too young to com¬ 
prehend. Blair’s affected indifference caused Tony’s 
bruised self-esteem to change into actual displeasure. 
If only she had cried and said she was sorry and he 
was quite right—he could have forgiven. 

The somewhat humorous angle to the affair was 
Roxy’s eager championship of the culprit. What 
chance, as Tony asked, had a man in jail to escape 
her? Roxy insisted on being friendly towards 
Blair, now that the latter’s claim to Leon was 
entirely disproved. She insisted on telephoning his 
daily progress until his discharge from the dis¬ 
pensary, Roxy assuming all costs. 

But Blair felt her friendship of Roxy was a thing 
of the past. When, a month later, she heard Roxy 
had resigned her position and was leaving the city, 
she did not make inquiries as to what was afoot. 

“She will marry him,” Tony said, when the mat¬ 
ter was discussed, “at least, I am hoping she will. I 
don’t see why tax-payers should be further burdened. 
What a pair they will make—to think Roxy went 
loco on the subject of love. Do you remember how 
she used to dress and talk when we were in col¬ 
lege ?” 


JUDD & JUDD 


283 


Blair remembered but she wished to avoid any¬ 
thing which might lead to further discussion. She 
would not admit to Tony that she was unable to 
free herself of the obsession that she was wrong 
and the right things were slipping by her, never to 
return. To have this constant, mental image of 
Leon, conceited mischief-maker that he was, when 
she ought to turn her energies to running business 
and Headquarters—it was like a well intentioned 
machine which becomes impaired by some vagrant 
twig attaching itself to a spoke and whirling round 
and round, always visible, hampering, eventually de¬ 
structive if unremoved. 

Blair tried to revive club interests. She bought 
Beatrice a fetching mid-winter outfit and went with 
her to dancing class to enjoy her daughter's popular¬ 
ity. Everyone was cordial but she had nothing in 
common with these mothers, as prettily dressed as 
their children. Blair felt conspicuous in her tailored 
suit. Later, Beatrice mentioned it in the unflinching 
manner of eleven-year-old daughters. 

"I wish you would wear a feathersome hat,” she 
began, “your hair could be curled and creep out 
around the edges. Your heels are muddy, mother, 
you tracked the floor and Mr. Van Ostrandt noticed 
it.” 


284 


JUDD & JUDD 


“My child, I stole off from work to watch you 
play,” Blair was indignant and hurt, “what does it 
matter how I am dressed?” 

“It matters to me. I don’t want the girls to slam 
you.” Beatrice pressed close to her. “I wish you 
could be lovely and sparkling—like Aunt Muriel.” 

Blair sighed. “If I was all lovely and sparkling 
—would you be satisfied? Wouldn’t you want me 
to do things, too? Aren’t you going to do things 
when you are grown up ?” 

Beatrice’s blue eyes were thoughtful. “I suppose 
so,” she admitted, “I suppose mothers have to be 
several things, don’t they? Have a little family 
and a little business -and oh, lots of different things. 
That is—some mothers.” 

Blair suppressed a smile. 

“But fathers are never several things,” Beatrice 
complained, Blair wishing Tony were eavesdropping. 
“Our father spends so much time taking care of 
himself and telephoning that he just says, ‘Yes, yes, 
be nice children—can you find me last night’s paper, 
that’s a good girl, goodbye, everybody.’ Life will be 
lots easier for Sonny, won’t it?” 

Blair longed to continue the debate. “Don’t you 
think fathers ought to be several things, too?” 

Beatrice shook her head. “It doesn’t matter what 


JUDD & JUDD 


285 


we think, I’m afraid they will always say, ‘Yes, yes, 
be nice children, here is some money for your 
bank.’ ” 

“Why do you think so?” Blair was amazed at 
the well-defined pessimism. 

“Because,” Beatrice answered easily, viewing the 
crowded avenue along which they drove, “most 
mothers would not like it any other way! You can 
tell now which girls are going to be like Auntie 
Muriel and which like you. The Auntie Muriel ones 
are the ones that giggle at the wrong time and cry 
when they ought to giggle.” 

Blair almost killed her engine from interest. 
“What about you sensible little girls who giggle at 
the proper time and shed tears only on rare oc¬ 
casions ?” 

“Oh, I suppose we will have to be like you,” her 
daughter seemed resigned. 

Blair hastened to drive the auto philosopher 
home. She felt as if she were being forced to swing 
round in a circle, now longing for romantic stupor 
to prove the victor—temporary victor, as she in¬ 
stantly corrected. 

She worried because her business dragged, she 
had engaged an assistant who was capable but ambi¬ 
tious, his salary greatly absorbed her profits. She 


286 


JUDD & JUDD 


was doubtful how long he would remain with her 
unless allowed to have full sway. 

Suppose she gave him full sway, how should she 
begin womanly rennaissance without letting go of 
her interests and authority? Nor did she care to do 
this unless Tony would be interested, appreciative. 
Not only was she becoming lack lustre regarding 
business, but when she tried to be enthusiastic in the 
Consumer’s League Convention, she found herself 
critical and bored, taking a diabolical survey of the 
members although she realized that she, herself, 
could have stood such a survey least of all. Blair 
had commercial cabin fever, as Annette Blake 
had described, just as she suffered from domestic 
cabin fever, only she did not diagnose these slightly 
different symptoms. 


CHAPTER XXXI 


While Tony indulged in flirtations with Effie 
Cudahy, telling himself some people were born to 
be wives, some were not; some natures were con¬ 
structive, others destructive—Blair struggled to keep 
her ground, to spend so many hours as Mrs. Blair 
Norcross at her office and so many at Headquarters 
as Mrs. Anthony Judd, but she lacked any personal 
interim in which she was just Tony’s lovely. 

Tony realized he was “slipping” when he found 
himself planning a hilarious vacation in which Blair 
should have no part. Tony had formed the recent 
habit of going alone to musical comedies, he took 
Effie to the motion pictures, he went on auto rides 
and roadhouse beefsteak suppers in company with 
out-of-town salesmen. When he unexpectedly made 
a handsome bonus from underwriting a large policy, 
—he admitted, honestly enough, that he would 
be better off if he made no extra money. At 
least, not while he was restless, inharmonious with 
Blair and his home. Tony adored his children in 
the “yes, yes, here is some money for your bank” 
287 


288 


JUDD & JUDD 


fashion. True, he looked forward to the time his 
son should enter his own alma mater and he become 
discriminating regarding Beatrice’s admirers. But 
he was not intimate with either child, that was one 
of the duties and privileges he had never been trained 
to consider. 

Just now, he was fearful lest his bit of prosperity 
would point the way to his own undoing as a family 
man. More and more, Tony wanted to play. He 
had formed the custom of being a reliable family 
man in the vague, accepted sense of the phrase. 
Barring school boy expenditures for Effie or sending 
Muriel flowers in return for her hospitality, Tony 
had never over-reached himself. 

Since Blair did not suspect his receiving any bonus, 
an unsolicited offering from evil gods, Tony was 
free to spend it as he liked. Immediately, he re¬ 
belled against any sense of limitation—say, having 
to explain in detail to Blair how he first sighted, 
then secured the prospect, what per cent of the initial 
payment was his, what yearly sum he would receive 
for the renewal—would it not be wise to put this 
money into a conservative bond? He could pic¬ 
ture Blair as she listened, all interest and praise 
—but most matter of fact. Very likely, she 
would be wearing a severe waist and skirt. Her 


JUDD & JUDD 


289 


shell rimmed glasses and the shadows from the read¬ 
ing lamp would exaggerate the purple circles under 
her eyes, the way her hair was strained off her fore¬ 
head. Her advice would be sensible, disinterested— 
they would look over the stock market to con¬ 
sider a good buy. She might advise Tony to 
have his teeth X-rayed with some of this money, 
so many times teeth affected eyes. She would sug¬ 
gest he give her ten dollars so she could spend five 
on each of the children. Would it not be nice to 
subscribe to an additional magazine, probably one of 
those reflecting the dessicated emotions of the high¬ 
brow? After this, they would eat some fruit and 
Blair would go over her accounts while Tony did his 
deep breathing exercises. This would be a home 
evening. 

What Tony wanted was a turbulent, extravagant 
experience—reeking of nonsense and beauty. But 
he checked these dreams with the resolve to keep 
on in his job just as Blair continued in hers. If, 
only, he found himself thinking, she loved him as he 
once thought she had. Tony nourished this delu¬ 
sion by his wounded conceit. He would know what 
to do with the money had this been true. He 
would buy an armful of roses and arrive home in 
spectacular glory, to find Blair in some soft, pinky 


290 


JUDD & JUDD 


thing. She would hum as she arranged the flowers, 
interrupting herself to call him her wizard-lamb and 
so on. He would tell her to pack up her pretties 
and run off with him for a week end, they would 
bribe the children with promises of presents—and 
off they would dash—Blair, blue-eyed and adoring 
and Tony, masterful and supreme. 

He tried to banish this possibility, as Blair 
struggled to dismiss the Leon Caspar incident be¬ 
cause Efffe Cudahy became cheap by contrast with the 
Blair-that-might-have-been. Since she did not love 
him, Tony demanded a playmate of equal calibre 
and charm—no little snub nosed switchboard 
operator. He wondered where to find her. 

He stood waiting for a street car, February sleet 
stinging his cheeks. The truth was, he wanted 
to fall in love with his wife again. But he deceived 
himself by insisting that he wished his wife to 
be in love with him. Tony preferred the neurotic 
role of the injured party. This night of nights, he 
resented going back to Headquarters where the 
children’s clamor and Blair’s tired arrival would 
combine to create a careless impression. He disliked 
the apartment with its rather matter of fact fittings 
which Blair never altered, because she hoped to 
leave before so very many years. He disliked 


JUDD & JUDD 


291 


every evidence of her business—her clothes, her tele¬ 
phone calls, her check book. It was a relief to no 
longer stifle the truth! He was an “old fashioned 
husband” and unfairly circumstanced because of his 
old fashioned loyalty. He merely wanted his wife at 
home—at his home. When she left it, he wanted 
to be her escort or at least have him approve of her 
going. 

Snow shrouded cars crowded with passengers 
snailed by without stopping. Tony decided to walk. 
He was reckless of the weather and his tendency to 
bad throats. With every tramp-tramp of his feet, 
he could reiterate his grievances. He was willing to 
pay for everything his wife wore and have the things 
of the best, too—he wanted her to consult him (verb 
of elastic dimensions) as to her children, her friends, 
her recreations! He had tried honestly to be the 
right sort of a husband, so he flattered, as he 
splashed through pools of gray snow broth. His 
coat became doubly heavy with wetness, his hat 
brim curled down in ruinous fashion. His feet 
were unpleasantly damp—well, perhaps if he was 
taken ill, he might not get into mischief! 

Probably Blair had arrived home, he knew exactly 
how she had parked the machine in the garage 
around the corner and gone up in the elevator 


292 


JUDD & JUDD 


with her impersonal pleasantry to the operator 
(never to his liking) ; how she kissed the children 
and asked questions, going into the kitchen to see if 
dinner progressed. Undoubtedly, she had thrown 
herself on the davenport to listen to a favorite talk¬ 
ing machine record or else, she scanned the paper 
and answered the children in preoccupied mono¬ 
syllables. There she would be when he came in— 
thick booted but nimble brained, tidy bank account, 
untidy hair, robust self-expression, thin and pale of 
face—God, he almost hated her! 

He stopped short as this thought refused to be 
banished. Hate Blair? What a cad! Was he turn¬ 
ing from a neurotic into a psychotic—his brain 
definitely diseased? Such an idea as this would in¬ 
dicate it. He could never hate the real Blair, the 
once-upon-a-time Blair, he added in sentimental 
afterthought. Why had she so changed? Why, 
during their engagement had she given no indication 
she might change? (At this stage, Tony, too, 
would have wished for the before-the-altar mar¬ 
riage which Aunt Agnes had favored in vain.) 
Because of her education had she the right to 
discard traditions, set up a rumpus about a 
woman’s rights to keep outside contacts, have con¬ 
tinuity in her life—what contacts, what continuity? 


JUDD & JUDD 


293 


Roxy, Leon? A dozen prejudiced questions sug¬ 
gested equally prejudiced answers. In another 
moment, Tony was convinced that he was unques¬ 
tionably right. 

Then why take this money to lay on the altar of 
such a self-sufficient and unattractive goddess? 
No, he would use it for a playtime—and no one plays 
alone. 

Realization interrupted Tony’s phantasy. Glancing 
up, he found he had reached the apartment house. 
He pushed open the heavy front door. He was de¬ 
termined and dangerous, a matter for his own sur¬ 
prise. Would Blair notice any change of manner? 
There should be no gainsaying him now. She must 
stand by her often voiced opinion that for a husband 
to agree to disagree is a legitimate, sometimes ad¬ 
mirable affair. 

With a reckless gesture, he stepped into the ele¬ 
vator before it had quite come to a stop. 

“And how is every little thing today?” he asked 
the operator, as the metal door slid fast. (Tony’s 
impersonal pleasantry.) 

But the man’s unfailing reply, “Oh, every little 
thing is fine, sir,” fell on deaf ears. Tony was 
dreaming about his playmate. There was to be no 
delay in finding her. 


CHAPTER XXXII 


Tony found his playmate! But it was three weeks 
before he realized how complete was the discovery. 
Then he took her south, stopping in New York 
while she bought some gowns, one of shimmering 
peacock embroidery. While this was undergoing 
slight alterations, the playmate had a heavenly face 
massage with smooth, cool, ivory rollers such as 
Chinese beauties used eons ago. She submitted to 
a water wave and a manicure. In the perfumed 
atmosphere of Transformation House, as the 
beauty parlor was listed, she was persuaded to pur¬ 
chase facial creams and powder the consistency of 
mist. There had to be the right sort of a wrap for 
this peacock colored gown and a hat that was dis¬ 
tinctly “feather some/’ 

When his playmate faced Tony at the hotel for 
dinner, a dinner of Tony’s choice including essence 
of gumbo froid, filet of sole Monte Carlo, cold steak 
and pigeon pie and profiterolles Alaska—he leaned 
back in his chair and gazed upon her with satisfac- 
294 


JUDD & JUDD 


295 


tion. His brain was pleasantly fizzy as the result of 
surreptitious cocktails and the waltz which the string 
orchestra hummed. 

“You are my old lovely—only lovelier,” he said. 

“You are my old Tony—only nicer,” echoed his 
wife. 

When Tony entered the apartment, the night of 
his drastic resolves, he had not found Blair in her 
“fighting togs” as he grimly pictured. Instead, the 
maid tiptoed out to say Mrs. Judd had come home 
in the afternoon and “sort of collapsed”—a doctor 
neighbor had come in to diagnose it as a nervous 
breakdown. She needed quiet and rest and Tony 
was to telephone him that evening. 

Kissing the worried children, he had found his 
way to Blair’s room. In old fashioned terms, Tony’s 
conscience smote him because the “wireless” had not 
warned him of this danger. He must never let 
Blair know but what he had heard and answered 
the summons, reaching Headquarters prepared to 
find her ill. 

He sat beside her bed and watched Blair try to 
smile and ask him to leave a note for her assistant, 
Donovan, in the morning. She was sorry she was 
such a nuisance, foolish to have gone without lunch 
lately. And her eyes hurt dreadfully when she tried 


296 


JUDD & JUDD 


to do Beatrice’s party dress by hand. He must not 
worry—poor old Tony, he did not look any too 
vigorous himself—it seemed nice to lie still and 
have him stroke her hands—they did not tremble 
when he did so—please let the children come in, they 
would not bother her—she was just tired of the out¬ 
side roar. She looked up with such trust in her blue 
eyes that Tony felt an unmanly suggestion of tears. 
Actually, he longed to kneel before her and confess 
and receive absolution. 

That would never do. Blair was not to be wor¬ 
ried but protected. So he led the children in for 
half a moment while Blair drank some tea. Then he 
read poetry to her until she fell asleep. 

Under the dim night lamp, Tony lingered to 
watch her. His check presented itself in a new 
guise. It was to be the means—Tony was innocent 
of the word bribe—of bringing Blair back into her 
home, giving Tony his playmate and, most of all, 
inspiring him to make more and larger checks, no 
matter what the method involved. The thin slip of 
paper, which he unfolded and stared at, seemed to 
whisper all of this, urging that this was the moment 
for him to act—and recklessly. 

Blair had proven an affable convert to Tony’s 
plans. The doctor had told her that she would not 


JUDD & JUDD 


297 


be herself inside of a few days, it was a matter of 
rest and quiet for some time to come, a change of in¬ 
terests, a little more pleasure. Donovan was not 
only competent but eager to handle the agency and 
Tony told her there was no need to think twice as to 
the expenses, he had made “a killing.” The children 
were angels of unselfishness and she could rely on 
the maid to stay at Headquarters. Tony insisted he 
could take a little time off—if she would promise him 
to buy some new clothes and not quibble over the 
price. She must trust him entirely—the present was 
all she need consider. 

So it was Judd and wife who left for the Virginia 
hotel of early associations. Judd alert and attentive 
busied talking about “large stuff” and wife, pale 
and attractive, murmuring about “small stuff.” 

Also, it was Judd and wife who returned to town 
with Judd still attentive to wife, although occupied 
with amazing business plans. He insisted Blair 
was not to be tied down with a routine, that must 
be understood. She could keep the business nomi¬ 
nally (only for a time, he planned) but Dono¬ 
van must have a free hand in running it. In order 
to do this, Tony was forced to get as much money 
—or credit—as he could in the shortest possible 
space of time. He must convince himself that 


298 


JUDD & JUDD 


money and credit were the same, there was nothing 
to worry over. 

At any cost, he must not allow his re-captured 
kingdom to be wrested from him. Blair was more 
delightful that he had expected—remembered. Her 
very frailness charmed him. He was able to go 
forth knowing his wife remained at home. But his 
wife did not realize that to bring this about, her hus¬ 
band’s business was on paper. 

Before leaving Virginia, Tony and Blair had had 
a serious, tender talk in which Tony confessed, with¬ 
out reserve, that his loyalty had been straying even, 
as now his allegiance was redoubling. Tony was 
an ardent opportunist; he seized Blair’s physical 
breakdown as his time to dazzle, extort extravagant 
promises, exaggerate the prosperous state of his 
finances. He was not going to be a poor man any 
longer; by that, he meant that he was not going to 
remain on a salary or in the advertising game—not 
he! He was going to take advantage of his long¬ 
standing connections and go in for the real money 
that was lying around loose. If one had but self- 
assurance and a few clean collars, the trick was half¬ 
way done. He wanted to be the right sort of broker, 
the sort that looked upon bucketing an order as one 
does treason. There was always an opening for this 


JUDD & JUDD 


299 


sort of a man and Tony’s experience and reliable 
background would help him tremendously. But he 
wanted Blair’s help by having her be his Blair and 
his alone, would she? For a little while? Things 
would be vastly different from the old days. Now, 
she could “sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam” as 
well as drive a decent car. She would have her long 
dreamed of rose garden and library. It was not at 
all impossible, why did she murmur it sounded stag¬ 
gering, too splendid to be true, that he must be care¬ 
ful? He knew just what he was doing—and why. 
But she must be at home in order to make his in¬ 
centive sufficiently alluring. Had she realized how 
they were drifting, how she was breaking under her 
own stoical programme? Surely, she was open to 
compromise. 

Blair yielded—temporarily. She saw no other 
way. She tried believing it would not interrupt her 
continuity. With normal enjoyment, she was happy 
in this resumed homage. She, too, wanted a real 
house, a rose garden, the opportunity to give 
Beatrice a social background. She was awestruck at 
Tony’s lightning calculations and self-confidence— 
but she never questioned his intentions. Several 
times during his plannings, she recalled the timely 
phrase “mair whistle than wool” but she was suf- 


300 


JUDD & JUDD 


fering from mental inertia which forbade cross 
examinations. It was sweet just to be loved 
and protected. It was miraculous to feel rested 
in so short a space of time, able to write the 
children long letters illustrated with pen and ink 
sketches and to have Tony buy her a gold silk 
sweater, a charming afternoon bag—tell her not to 
worry, there was plenty of money and she was his 
lovely! It was somewhat wonderful to shiver and 
realize how close to the precipice of parting they had 
come, a more tragic precipice than the one from 
which Tony had rescued her years ago. She was 
so weary trying to show Tony her way was right. 
Beatrice had spoken truly when she said most 
fathers were destined to do or be only one thing. 
No matter what Blair’s attempts to prove he ought 
to be otherwise, Tony had remained in his single 
track. 

Curiously, she tried to cast ahead as to what they 
would do when they began this revised future of 
theirs. Probably find new friends, entertain, go to 
theaters—young Donovan would have a free hand, 
indeed! Poor little business, Blair felt as if she 
had turned into its stepmother. 

Even in this new and somewhat uncertain pros¬ 
perity, Blair felt the coward for having deserted it. 


JUDD & JUDD 


301 


She knew that her name remained over the door but 
her interest had been shifted into other channels. 
As Tony planned to erase her name in due time, so 
Blair planned, when she was stronger and the 
novelty of playing had subsided, to resume her 
interest. 

For now, she let business drift while she did 
the shops in a search for summer toggery. Tony 
was becoming intimate with Oliver Sterling and 
Muriel became friendly—and curious. Before she 
knew it, Blair found herself sitting at the Sterling 
dinner table and being complimented on her off-the- 
shoulder white gown by Peter Cabana and other out- 
sized philanderers who constituted Muriel's body¬ 
guard. 

“You would never be like Oliver in business?” she 
would protest to Tony, after several weeks of this 
exciting readjustment. “I could never feel sure of 
him, you know—you never did, either. I’d rather 
go back to Twilldo than have you take any sort of 
risks. But you understand that, don’t you? You 
know, Tony, I’m always here when you want to 
explain just how things are going.” 

Tony ignored the last sentence. “I am like Sterl¬ 
ing in this—I am ambitious, content only with real 
money. But Sterling has become very solid. A few 


3°2 


JUDD & JUDD 


years ago, one might have questioned his methods— 
not now. My dear girl, how could he have endured 
unless he was on a solid basis? He is going to 
New York this fall—I’ve suspected it for some time. 
He’s too big for this town. For the present, I am 
content to step into his shoes.” 

“What will his future be down there?” Blair was 
doubtful, unenthusiastic. Try as she would, she 
could not banish common-sense and years of ex¬ 
perience. 

Tony demurred. “The American Bank Note Asso¬ 
ciation wanted him,” repeating Sterling’s pleasing 
lie and knowing it to be the same. “Only he turned 
it down—his own business is his best bet.” 

Blair believed Tony when he made these direct state¬ 
ments. “Do you think our flood of prosperity will 
be uninterrupted? Dear boy, think what we have 
spent the last six months—I would not want to 
count it up in cold figures.” 

“You need not. I’ll count for both. It has been 
simple—what a great many smarter men than I am 
are doing and have always done. I took a chance 
with my bonus money and doubled it—then I went 
to work and lost some of it but that did not discour¬ 
age me. I played until I won and so on. Then I in¬ 
vested someone’s money and made a good thing for 


JUDD & JUDD 


303 


him—I took no chance and I stood ready to make 
good, on principle, should I turn turtle—I am out 
for clients who want a square broker, a financial 
adviser—no trickster with wild gains one day and 
losses the next. I’ve lived in this town too long and 
my people before me, not to have some kind of 
backing and reputation. I think you know I’d never 
abuse anyone’s confidence.” 

Blair was silent. Tony launched into further 
elaboration of his plans. He was leaving Scott and 
Carson and had rented some good looking offices 
near Sterling’s suite. He had bribed a crack stenog¬ 
rapher from the firm to come along, too. This time, 
Tony had started off on the right foot. 

“I am not as charitable towards Muriel as you 
have been,” Blair could not help protesting. “True, 
I’m not a handsome addition to her zoo,” she added. 
“I can’t think that Muriel would care overly much 
how her husband made money—as long as she could 
spend it. What bothers me, Tony, is to have you 
give up what you are meant to be, the thing you 
trained for—selected. It—it doesn’t ‘listen well’ as 
Sonny says when I read him certain stories.” 

Tony took this chance to turn the conversation 
into personal channels. Blair need have no fears— 
only trust him. He did not approve of Muriel, 


304 


JUDD & JUDD 


either. Only, she did get away with things. Tony’s 
new viewpoint was that to get away with things was 
equivalent to earning them. He did not admit any 
difference and Blair did not press the point. 


CHAPTER XXXIII 


No one could have avoided the thrill which came 
with the smart new house on London Road. Tony 
bought this the following spring—that is, he paid 
down a small equity and assumed a staggering mort¬ 
gage ; he paid an initial sum for expensive furnish¬ 
ings and stood off the balance with a swaggering air f 
Tony was heart and soul in the stock game. Blair 
could not gainsay him—she no longer tried. Per¬ 
haps, she did not realize how hard Tony worked to 
deaden her realization and common-sense, seeing 
that she enjoyed herself in an extravagant, excit¬ 
ing fashion which precluded analysis. 

The children approved of their new life, they 
voiced discontent with the former Headquarters. 
When Blair showed them the new living room 
with its furniture a dark green olive wood 
done in orange rep, glazed sky blue walls, open 
Normandy fireplaces, thick rugs slipping about on 
parquet floors, Beatrice was spellbound with ad- 
305 


3°6 


JUDD & JUDD 


miration and Anthony junior gave vent to a shrill: 

“This is just the kind of a room I always 
wanted.” 

Blair had been led to feel a sense of gratitude 
towards Tony which disarmed clear headed thinking. 
Tony had asked permission to do her own room as 
a surprise. She found he had selected honey colored 
silk panels for the walls, green and brown curtains 
of distinctive fabric and the furniture was in grace¬ 
ful, old French mode with rugs and ornaments cost¬ 
ing “a young fortune” as she gently accused. 

Blair knew these things could not be entirely paid 
for, she tried to economize by protesting the land¬ 
scape gardener who persuaded Tony to install an 
elaborate bird bath and a sun dial. But Tony would 
brook no interference. Just to prove his affluence, 
Blair found herself having to select several sets of 
dishes and goblets with gold banded rims. 

They joined the country club and had their 
new car done in an ultra shade of blue. New 
and equally affluent friends came to call. The 
Judds were discovered! Exclusive bootleggers in¬ 
vited Tony’s patronage. They began entertaining 
in a lavish way—they were invited, in turn, to similar 
affairs where one vied with the hostess about the 
case of real stuff secured the day before. 


JUDD & JUDD 


307 


People began talking of Tony as they did of 
Oliver Sterling. He was a comer and his wife 
seemed a nice sort. She had been in business for 
quite a while and had made a go of it in a modest 
way, her profits might have started her husband on 
his new career. This rumor, which reached Tony 
in due time, caused him no little displeasure. 

No one about the new neighborhood was slow in 
calling and exchanging views as to the stock ex¬ 
change, country club scandals and the latest way to 
set diamonds. By August, the Judds had gone 
country clubwise in all ways and Blair’s name was 
all she gave to her former agency. She had taken 
bridge lessons, because Tony begged her to do so, 
and revived her dancing. In September, she gave 
an attractive garden party in honor of the Sterlings 
who were visiting in town a few weeks. 

It was not long until Blair realized these new 
acquaintances were quite like the old—with the ex¬ 
ception of their exterior decorations. There were 
a few booky persons whom she enjoyed, a great 
profusion of the daddy-women de luxe, one or two 
mild Roxies, numberless Pollys and Blairs. By 
November, she was bored with the clatter of 
this provincial society, the vying with each other 
as to clothes and complexions, the gossip about 


308 


JUDD & JUDD 


maids and intimate friends, being appointed on 
philanthropic committees and evading any actual 
work until the afternoon of the annual reception. 

Still attending the country day school, Beatrice 
and Tony found themselves socially elevated because 
of their new home. They, too, entertained and were 
invited to frequent affairs. Beatrice pleaded for a 
“really French dress like Gerry Wiley has” and 
Tony junior was guilty of cataloguing people as to 
the make of their automobile. 

Thanksgiving Day, the Judds had open house. 
Blair, radiant in blue tulle weighted with crystal 
beads, and Tony, well satisfied, a trifle nervous, 
greeted their fifty some guests, who drank alto¬ 
gether too much punch and were deaf to the 
string orchestra crouched behind the potted palms. 
After which, the guests managed to escape into 
corners to ask, “Who were the Judds before they 
came out here—so many newcomers, these days— 
a Miss Judd lived downtown in a cottage, valuable 
land, that—he probably came in for the money— 
Blair Judd used to be in the advertising business— 
and reform work, too—rather pretty, but nothing 
striking about her—seems awkward at entertaining, 
notice it ? Mighty good champagne cup, that—Mrs. 
Sterling knew her when she was a bride. Often 


JUDD & JUDD 


309 


wonder how the Sterlings managed to get where 
they seem to be—yes, these are dry point etchings 
Judd bought at a private sale—he has quite a bit of 
taste—he said they cost a pretty figure—ah, yes, he 
left the price mark on one of them—well, let’s run 
along, my head is thick.” 

After several rounds of punch, Cabana pressed 
Blair’s hand and whispered that if he had suspected 
she was a fairy princess in disguise all these years, 
a sleeping beauty, so to speak, he would have been 
an awful nuisance, yes he would—camped on her 
trail and refused to be discouraged—her husband 
had better realize that he could not monopolize one 
of the finest little persons in the land, it was never 
done in the best society. 

Cabana was extremely over-weight these days 
and equally foppish in his dress. Rumor had him 
engaged several times a season. 

Later that same evening, while Tony indulged in 
both physical and mental indigestion, Blair played 
nurse. 

“It has not seemed like Thanksgiving,” she con¬ 
fessed, when Tony, temporarily subdued, sprawled 
on her chaise longue, resolving to begin a rigid 
diet the next morning. “It was a pleasant affair— 
and cost a great deal more money than I would have 


3 IQ 


JUDD & JUDD 


favored. We fairly rushed through our own din¬ 
ner in order to be ready for—what? A mob of 
curious critics—come, it is time for another tablet.” 

“Thanks. What a foolish habit eating and drink¬ 
ing is!” Tony reflected. “You look awfully nice, 
everyone was impressed. Personally, I prefer this 
sort of a holiday to the ones where you did the 
cooking and had little ambition to change your 
dress.” Tony indulged in a self-satisfied reverie, 
glancing around the attractive room. “I’ll not ask 
anyone if Fve done well or not. I can answer for 
myself—I have. I owe Sterling a lot, too, you must 
give him credit for being willing to help a fellow to 
a short cut.” 

Blair did not answer. She was thinking—and it 
was not the first time—that she preferred not to 
investigate Tony’s business, just as she preferred 
not to admit her declining interest in the agency. 
Instead, she reminded herself of what several of 
the new friends had hinted—that Tony had a bril¬ 
liant future as a financier before him. Therefore, 
she must help him as she had helped him once 
before. But it took all of Blair’s loyalty and mis¬ 
taken strength of purpose to banish qualms. 

Just before their fourteenth anniversary, Tony 
came to notice his children in a new light. He 


JUDD & JUDD 


3 ii 


attempted to make friends with them, he took the 
boy around with him and saved out an hour before 
dinner, during which Beatrice delighted him with 
her original opinions. He insisted that they read 
books together and analyze their plots. 

“Our children are remarkably sound in heart and 
mind,” he told Blair, one evening, “it is with an 
effort I refrain from quoting, ‘cute sayings of our 
little ones.’ They are self-sufficient rascals, but you 
can trust them. I find when they come to a decision, 
you can’t argue them out of it. I also find I am not 
overly well acquainted with either.” 

“They have been taught to think for themselves, 
not as I might think or wish them to think, perhaps 
—but because their ultimate job was to decide for 
themselves, so the sooner they began, the easier it 
would be.” Blair hesitated. Then she added, “It 
would be interesting to keep a time chart—the time 
we see them, the time we don’t—and compare it 
with the days when I had my office. I believe we 
would find I have less contact now than then.” 

“No fair mounting a soap box, just when I’ve 
gone and—wait, you are spoiling my anniversary 
present way ahead of time,” he protested, fumbling 
in his pocket for the ammunition. 

Blair was obliged to dismiss her case. For Tony 


312 


JUDD & JUDD 


presented her with one of those white kid and gold 
edged jewellers’ boxes, which he fancied compensat¬ 
ed for all things. Within lay his gift—a pearl neck¬ 
lace. 

“You adorable pirate,” she cried impulsively. 

He flushed at the heedless exclamation. 

“They are marvellous, gorgeous,” she praised, un¬ 
able to resist clasping them about her neck and run¬ 
ning to a mirror, “it is a fairy princess sort of thing 
—you’ve been too generous—and they are truly 
pearls—beads of captured moonshine—” she was 
thinking of the imitation string he had bought her 
so long ago. 

“They are lovely like their owner,” Tony did the 
honors with full gallantry, “now, I’ve chained you 
again—and what a chase you lead me,” he stopped 
to kiss her hand. 

Appreciative, wondering, somewhat disapproving, 
Blair did not recall the thought which had suggested 
itself for some time : that these so-called home women, 
who were charity patronesses, golf experts, bridge 
sharks, dancing enthusiasts, chaise longue vampires 
saw less of their families than did the average 
woman with a so-called career. Blair herself had 
passed over two days in the house without speaking 
to or seeing either child. There had been an en- 


JUDD & JUDD 


3 i 3 


grossing archery tournament, a musical tea, a dinner 
dance which prevented her waking until noon. By 
the time she was dressed and off for a bridge 
luncheon, to be followed by a plate supper at the 
club, the children were home and fast asleep and 
up and off the next morning, their parents slumber¬ 
ing on! 

Blair had longed to set down these facts in a 
satirical essay launched against the clamoring ad¬ 
vocates for women in the home—and nowhere else! 
But that, too, would have hinted of disloyalty to¬ 
wards Tony. He was playing the game in such 
vivid, wholehearted fashion, people spoke so admir¬ 
ingly of him and his future, that she must not de¬ 
tract a whit from either his success or his joy. He 
must not suspect that she was bored with the new 
setting, the time-wasting, petty persons who insisted 
that they comprised the ‘‘better sort.” 

Her one original achievement this season had 
been to compose a new chef d’ceuvre—a cham¬ 
pagne glass filled with deadly pink dressing, shrimps 
hung about the edges of the glass, the game being 
to push them off into the dressing by a single stroke' 
of the small fork. 


CHAPTER XXXIV 


By the night of her wedding anniversary recep¬ 
tion, the Sterlings coming to town for the holidays 
and staying over for the event, Blair felt herself a 
discordant note in the crush of well dressed, flippant 
guests who played mah-jong and toy racing games 
for expensive prizes. She watched Muriel’s serene 
self in sea green chiffon bordered with ermine. 
Muriel had given several costume dances, the im¬ 
portant thing about it being that she had studied 
with a headliner in the Russian ballet at ten dollars 
per twenty minutes. 

Blair caught sight of herself in a mirror—her 
headdress of golden grapes giving a Bacchanalian 
climax to her iridescent, sleeveless gown, Tony’s 
pearls about her neck. She was a trifle matronly of 
figure—breakfast in bed and walking only to and 
from a car was certain to tell. Her hair was modish- 
ly dressed, her cheeks rouged and her eyes bright 
yet lacking in expression. 

Tony was missing from the drawing room, just 
314 


JUDD & JUDD 


315 


after Blair made this surreptitious summary of her 
charms. She found him in the den talking to 
Oliver Sterling. Sterling had turned gray about the 
temples and affected a drawl. Both started as she 
came upon them. 

“What mischief are you school boys plotting?” 
she demanded, gracefully going on her way. 

“Aren’t we the lucky things?” Muriel found oc¬ 
casion to ask, examining Blair’s pearls with a prac¬ 
tised hand, “did you ever fancy, when I first called 
at the old Gramatan, that we would have regular 
husbands and real pearls—and everything else cost¬ 
ing more than we ought to afford?” her eyes were 
mocking, as if she read Blair’s troubled discontent. 

“No, I never did,” Blair admitted hastily, trying 
to think of some effective bon mot which should 
prevent further interrogation. 

“I never thought,” insisted Muriel, “you would 
learn to play with us. You were such a learned 
young creature. I was illiterate by comparison. You 
even—let me whisper it, Sister Anne—conjugated 
Greek verbs as well as baked your own bread. Then 
you turned into such a business person that you 
ran down in looks. I can be frank, can’t I, honey, 
now that you’ve come on so famously? I used to 
wonder if you had some sort of a horrid germ 


3i6 


JUDD & JUDD 


thing, like walking typhoid—your face was so sal¬ 
low and thin—don’t call me hateful,” slipping her 
hand into Blair’s, “people never mind what I say 
because, if they do, I’ll soon enough say what they 
will mind. That is a wise rule—try it, sometime. 
Dear old Blair, wait until Tony has learned the game 
and comes to New York. You’ll grow terribly keen 
about being there. Entre nous, these people are 
amusing, don’t you agree ? I adore coming back to 
be entertained and stared at, it gives me a lot of 
after dinner stories to tell when I go back. Oh, 
Peter Pumpkin Eater, you are listening—’ess ’oo is 
—you ogre,” as Cabana came and paused beside 
them. “Take me out for an ice. Say a bead for 
me, Blair, that I resist his charms.” 

Blair told herself she was in a bad way if Muriel’s 
monologue could alarm, as well as depress her. She 
felt stifled, as if forced to inhale musk or double 
strength gardenia extract instead of oxygen. The 
evening dragged to a hilarious conclusion. She was 
glad when Tony again demanded his digestive tablets 
and complained that the demands on his wine cellar 
exceeded what he considered would have been a 
liberal supply. 

“Don’t let’s give parties like this,” she proposed, 
“either I am a base hypocrite or else everyone else 


JUDD & JUDD 


3U 


is. Everytime someone came in, I seemed to see 
them as they really were. It appeared we had in¬ 
vited the inmates of some zoo to come to dance and 
drink. Once and for all, I do not like so-called 
society. I like friends, real people not fashion 
plates, dishonest dandies. I wish we could go to 
Maine this summer. I had a letter from Amy 
Sprague—you remember what a rare soul she was? 
They have a little colony of booky, poverty stricken 
souls. Let’s go to see them, be rid of social snares. 
I’d like the children to spend just such a simple 
summer as the Sprague children will. I’d not mind a 
few weeks of co-operative housekeeping with people 
like the Spragues and the McClintics, the Glenny 
girls—they are all there and Amy says this year the 
Martins are not coming which leaves their log house, 
Shanty junior, to be occupied. It would be a splen¬ 
did chance for you to become cured of indigestion 
while I gracefully dropped these kind of connec- 
tions.” 

Tony was not impressed. “I wish you would re¬ 
member a few of the things you once said about 
doing housework without conveniences. You have 
a most convenient memory, my dear. And why poke 
off to Maine and a browbeaten school masters’ 
colony when we are invited to real resorts and I 


3i8 


JUDD & JUDD 


want to tour all over and back again ? This summer 
ought to see us deciding where we are to have our 
own camp. It is imperative we do have one, al¬ 
though you may not be aware of it. I cannot dis¬ 
appear into some unknown hamlet if I’m to go on as 
I’ve been doing/’ he flung off a shoe, slightly tight 
it had been, too, with a violent gesture. It hit the 
edge of Blair’s dressing table and caused a tinkle of 
cut glass and silver. 

“There—doesn’t that sound like our parties ?” was 
her quick remark. She was brushing her hair, re¬ 
joicing in its holiday from pins and combs. “The 
only sound lacking was the pop of a wine cork. 
That is what this set amounts to. Oh, Tony, you 
are too real to be deceived much longer. If you 
are going to build up an enduring career as a finan¬ 
cier—ought you not be a better judge of human 
nature—of values? I do want to go to Maine. I 
want the children there. We cannot drag them 
from house party to house party and a camp would 
be the only other alternative. Besides, we ought to 
keep up our college associations—why, I haven’t 
been down at the club-” 

“With my income and prospects, I’d make men 
such as Sprague and McClintic uncomfortable! 
And I know what that feels like. No, we have gone 




JUDD & JUDD 319 

beyond them and we cannot turn back/’ he drew 
off the other shoe with great care and quiet. 

“I don’t like any career that depends so utterly 
on social evidences of prosperity,” Blair objected. 
“It is like a woman’s trading on her sex to get her 
across in business. It never lasts for long.” Peer¬ 
ing in the glass, she discovered her eyes to be blood¬ 
shot, which annoyed her since Muriel’s eyes had re¬ 
mained a clear, bright green and it had been Muriel 
not Blair who made ravages on Tony’s wine cellar. 

“Don’t you? I’m so sorry,” Tony was on the flip¬ 
pant defensive, decidedly irritated. Of late, Blair 
had noticed he controlled his temper only by a great 
effort. Trifles annoyed him and his annoyance was 
a storm signal for an actual brain blizzard. He was 
“loud and fussy” his children complained, if he mis¬ 
laid a book or found the car needed washing or the 
telephone connections happened to be poor. Almost 
unawares, Blair had redoubled her efforts to keep 
everything smooth and harmonious about the house. 
She knew it would lull him into harmony to find 
his favorite dishes for dinner or herself looking well 
dressed and playful or to have her tell where they 
had been invited and who had called. Life with 
Tony was coming to be like living on the edge of a 
volcano. 


3 2 ° 


JUDD & JUDD 


“What is it you do want?” he demanded, when 
Blair did not answer. “I try to give you everything 
a man can give a woman—you accept it yet complain. 
After a really remarkable reception, the best people 
in town at our elbow—and—He glanced at the 
jeweller’s case containing his pearls. “You turn about 
and want to go to Maine with half-starved professors 
and hollow-cheeked women! You would bury your¬ 
self up there and pretend to enjoy the ‘smell of the 
lamp’—you don’t seem to realize that I made a pretty 
big play for your love, to convince you that you must 
stay at home. Some men would not have tried it—r 
not after all those years. And many men could not 
have done it, had they tried You seem to want—.” 
Tony’s head was in a whirl. His conscience was not 
pricking him—it was mocking. True, he had suc¬ 
ceeded in keeping his wife at home, he persuaded 
her to return to the squirrel cage because he gilded it 
-—yet he was discovering this was not soul satisfying. 
There were too many times when something within 
him suggested danger ahead, murmured, “You 
have been cheap—therefore, you will pay dearly.” 
Tony tried to laugh at this, suggest to himself it 
was the backwash of having been forced to patron¬ 
ize Sunday School libraries in the early nineties. 

His supreme struggle for what he termed self- 


JUDD & JUDD 


321 


preservation and what was self-deification had 
caused him to be super-sensitive to criticism, ever 
alert for signs of failure, suspicious of everyone 
save himself. He had preserved his home and his 
children’s home, he insisted and, as soon as it was 
possible, he would see that Blair’s name was re¬ 
moved from her agency door and a To-Let sign 
substituted. 

“We won’t argue tonight,” Blair said wearily, 
“many things can happen by next summer. I can 
take the children there for a fortnight, alone.” 

Tony darted an angry look at her. “Where would 
you suggest for our permanent summer camp?” he 
asked, trying to change the subject and avoid a 
temper spasm, “I’m determined to have one of those 
‘primitive’ affairs with four baths and a billiard 
room. I want a place people can say-” 

Blair put her hands on his shoulder. “Tonibus,” 
she said seriously, “I want you to go to sleep right 
away and wake up the pleasant, even soul you used 
to be. You are too over-powering and elegant to 
stand close inspection. It fools the world but not 
your wife. Come, promise me.” 

He was not to be dissuaded. “Sometimes, you 
seem naturally unsympathetic,” he complained, as he 
turned to obey, “as if you thought you knew so 



322 


JUDD & JUDD 


much more than the rest of us that it was hardly 
worth your effort to tutor us so we could make your 
grade. Don’t send me to bed like you do the 
children,” realizing he had started to obey, “and 
don’t call me Tonibus and push that damned pill 
box at me. I’m fed up on medicine. I’m going in 
for one of those mind cures and have a prosperity 
circle meet here weekly—no joie de vivre about you 
though, is there ? You take my presents and you use 
my money to buy gowns and you go to places like a 
well-bred automaton. You don’t share my pleasure 
or success. Sometimes, I wonder if you are truly 
proud of me—as proud as I am of you! And please 
don’t stare at me as if I was a lost soul, refusing 
the only chance of a rain check. You are neither my 
nurse or mentor—you’re my wife.” 

Tony was loath to stop the discussion, it was like 
taking a little more of a stimulant to continue the 
deadly effect of that already taken. He was not 
angry but quarrelsome. His own sense of short¬ 
comings expressed themselves in symbols. As Blair 
refused to answer further, Tony asked himself what 
was the use, after all; she could not have loved him 
as he thought she had—blow the solar system, you 
might as well grab a Reno time table and do the 
thing right. 


JUDD & JUDD 


323 


Tony’s jealousy, a counter-irritant to mental tur¬ 
moil, asserted itself in various guises. At first, Blair 
had been surprised, almost amused at this. Then 
she became indignant; now, she was indifferent. 
First, it was Cabana that Tony accused was of 
special interest to her, she probably admired his un¬ 
couth success, she used to tell how he called on her 
at the little Bungahigh. Blair felt it beside the point 
to argue. Then it was her assistant, young Dono¬ 
van (not married a year), over whom Tony fumed 
and mistrusted—did Donovan want to buy the busi¬ 
ness outright—well, why not let him—how often 
did she see him—why bother with this enterprise 
when she had more engrossing things closer at 
hand? 

To have answered these questions would have 
been a Robin Hood’s bam affair. She knew Tony 
did not seriously believe what he said, it was an 
unconscious delirium of a troubled mind. But 
it was wearing to endure with a man so torn 
with unrest. There were other men in their new 
set about whom Tony conjured up suspicions. If 
Blair liked anyone overly much, please tell him 
before they went further—he wanted to be certain 
as to their future love. (Which meant he was un¬ 
certain as to his own future). 


324 


JUDD & JUDD 


“I have never loved anyone but you,” Blair said 
in desperation, as spring ended and summer plans 
matured according to Tony’s dictation. “But I have 
come to believe that it is a misfortune to be a monog¬ 
amist. You would, no doubt, have been unsuspect¬ 
ing had I been an experienced flirt. If you continue 
to talk about my not loving you and appreciating you, 
getting tense and silly, your face like a thunder cloud, 
your blood pressure alarming, I think I’ll do some¬ 
thing that will give you cause for these outbursts.” 

This warning made a temporary impression. 

“How can you do business with such a mental 
attitude?” Blair asked a few days later, “I have 
quite given up your ever discussing it with me, but 
I am curious to know if you give others the im¬ 
pression of chaos and uncertainty you give at home? 
I wish you would listen when I say I do not 
wish more things until the old ones have been 
paid for. Stop this boastful display of pretended 
wealth—or is it wealth—tell me, Tony, how much 
money have you, how much do you owe? This 
sort of a house was never our idea—not way, way 
back—we wanted a brown shingled, roomy place 
with fruit trees and dog kennels and-” 

Tony put his hands over his ears. Sometimes, his 
gestures were so grotesque, they provoked his chil- 



JUDD & JUDD 


325 


dren to mirth which resulted in their leaving the 
table. He seemed unaware that the servants heard 
his bombastic declarations. Club men spoke of his 
increasing conceit and old friends shook their heads 
and passed him up with: “Judd’s gone beyond us— 
I wonder if he will be able to find his way back?” 

“Stop,” he thundered, “I’ve given you all I 
thought-” 

“Any wife ought to have,” and Blair left the 
room. 

From that moment, she blamed herself for having 
declared a truce. She was crouching mentally, 
ready to spring out and declare herself when the 
chance should come. She affected indifference to 
his moods, trying to gloss them over before the chil¬ 
dren. No matter what Tony urged, she was lack 
lustre as to the vacation plans. Tony was truly 
grateful that she had given up going to Maine; he 
expressed his gratitude by presenting her with a new 
sunshade, like an inverted bowl of pink roses, which 
he unearthed on a flying visit to New York. 

As things were now, Tony had succeeded in plan¬ 
ning for the summer months. As soon as school 
closed, they would shut up the house temporarily 
and take the children to camp. Then, Tony and Blair 
would proceed on a round of gay house-parties. 



CHAPTER XXXV 


The last formal tea of the season, at which Blair 
assisted, sent her home with the composite impres¬ 
sion of candlelight, insincere adjectives and mussy 
petits fours. At dinner time, she remembered it 
would soon be Muriel’s birthday. Tony had been 
emphatic in asking that she remember it. So she 
left an early call for the next morning and trailed 
through several gift shops in search of “something 
different.” 

She unearthed a set of glass perfume bottles in 
the shape of Noah’s Ark animals; these, with her 
love and best wishes, would answer. Beatrice, who 
coveted a like set, followed her mother about while 
she was packing them. 

“Are you going to have your name in the paper 
again?” she asked, “Not just for parties, but like 
you used to have ?” 

“Want me to?” said Blair, almost longingly. 

“I think you ought to keep in practice,” was her 
daughter’s grave advice. 

326 


JUDD & JUDD 


3 2 7 

Blair, hungry for substantial pastimes, refused to 
discuss the “ins” and “outs” of the matter. Before 
lunch was halfway ended, Tony hinted that he was 
hard pressed for ready money, everything would be 
more than all right within a few weeks but for now 
—there was a tiny squeak and oh, she would not be 
interested in figures and details—take his word for 
it. Why was the girl so long in bringing his coffee ? 
He must have ready money. He had nothing to 
draw upon—and he did not wish to borrow and have 
it noised about. If he could have about two thou¬ 
sand, just to turn himself around with and shoo 
away narrow-minded suspicions—this coffee was like 
melted mud—he had about decided to get a pair of 
Japanese in the fall, they could do the whole thing, 
garden and all—and lend distinction besides. Some¬ 
times he thought an apartment for the winter, a very 
excellent apartment, and a summer camp was the 
wisest way to live—suburbs were suburbs no mat¬ 
ter how one tried to lie about their being ideal year- 
round homes—and—what was it he was saying? 
He needed ready money—and—would she come up 
into his den for a few minutes, did she ever have a 
ringing in her ears, like sleigh bells sounding far 
away? What did it mean? Arterial tension—non¬ 
sense, what an alarmer she was. Yes, he had that 


328 


JUDD & JUDD 


ringing sometimes, but he believed it came from 
needing a vacation . . . about the money, she was 
certain to stand by as she always had. He had 
been a cross ogre, too, had he not ? Please forgive 
him—he was entirely to blame. His jealousy was 
absurd—no doubt of it—he only meant- 

Here, Blair took occasion to point out that such 
jealousy is not a sign one is unhappy because uncer¬ 
tain of another’s affections but a form of admitting 
that they are uncertain of their own. Another time, 
Tony would have made an issue of this, but he was 
in pursuit of ready money and the result of the con¬ 
versation was that Blair—like any pawnbroker’s 
wife, she thought—gave back her pearls—‘‘tempo¬ 
rarily, lovely,” Tony repeated. She told him that she 
never wanted them again, please sell them outright 
and use the money where it is needed, she would 
much prefer he did this—they were cheapened in her 
eyes. Instinctively, Blair knew the money was to 
be used in ways of which she would disapprove. 

“You don’t want them?” Tony was all indigna¬ 
tion, “is that the way you react to a call for help? 
Oh, perhaps you never wanted them.” 

He drove off in high dudgeon. Blair wondered 
if she would dare to understand Tony’s business. 
And what could she do, if she did understand it? 



JUDD & JUDD 


329 


It was coming to her with unpleasant force that she 
had walked out of her kitchen more easily than she 
could from her drawing room. 

Before the Judds left for their first summer 
episode, Mr. and Mrs. Leon Caspar, formerly Roxy 
Hubbell and Leon of the languishing heart, re¬ 
entered Blair’s horizon. She welcomed them because 
they recalled other, more sincere days and ways, 
provided a contrast to this present situation of 
money, money, guess how much money? 

To Blair, Roxy and her “young husband” as she 
honestly dubbed him, were at least real persons, still 
struggling, no matter if Roxy was frank in having 
to admit that she could not trust Leon with too much 
pocket money at a time. Leon was improved, al¬ 
though he was still the selfish dreamer. But he 
admired and was grateful of Roxy’s efforts, he ap¬ 
preciated her love. He called her “muzzy” to Tony’s 
everlasting nausea and did not resent being treated 
as if he were about to approach man’s estate. 

Most surprising was Roxy’s successful and novel 
enterprise. She had commercialized the very art 
she long despised—home making. Realizing “young 
husband” was a financial zero and choosing that her 


330 


JUDD & JUDD 


days as a lawyer be ended, Roxy decided to open a 
bright little shop in a middle western city. It bore 
the intriguing sign: The Comforts of Home—a 
unique establishment, neither a woman’s exchange 
nor a man’s chop house. It was, as Roxy insisted 
when pressed for details, the comforts of home, no 
more and no less. It was for the convenience and 
solace of every bachelor man and maid, widowed 
or married persons who had given way to hotel liv¬ 
ing. Roxy had proceeded on the theory that no 
modernist breathes but what has some favorite food, 
habit, accessory, recreation which dates from the 
time of their initial, old-fashioned home. That it 
was their privilege not to lose this link with the 
past, enjoy childish comforts had caused her to 
make the venture. Why not have some of the com¬ 
forts of home a pleasant reality rather than a 
pathetic memory? 

If a man wished a certain sort of a dinner, a par¬ 
ticular way of having his clothes mended, his stock¬ 
ings folded, if he liked to read sentimental poems or 
look through antiquated art albums while sitting in 
an easy chair, beside an old walnut table—Roxy 
saw to it this came to pass. If someone hankered 
for the homemade articles of her childhood, wished 
certain personal daily services rendered as they had 


JUDD & JUDD 


33i 


been rendered by her mother or aunts, Roxy en¬ 
deavored to meet the demand. She, radical and 
feminist, had been clever enough to gather together 
those who could produce these comforts, paying 
them fairly yet reserving a decent profit. She had been 
amazed to find so many women who could mend, 
do fancy cookery, knit, crochet, and so on. And she 
was equally amazed to find an even greater number 
willing to pay for the same, to have the right to come 
into one of her series of cubicles, furnished with 
dramatic fidelity as to detail. There was a large 
farm kitchen, an old-time dining room, a best parlor, 
a few quaint sitting room corners. Here people 
flocked to “eat in the kitchen like we used to do” 
with food served direct from the stove, herbs drying 
on rafters and a tabby cat purring under foot. 

This shop was being duplicated in as many cities 
as possible, so Leon supplemented, Leon being the 
straw-manager of the enterprise. 

“He’s a dear, if you understand and don’t expect 
too much,” Roxy confided as soon as she was alone 
with Blair, “I never thought I’d assume such a life 
job—but I’m not complaining. I let him play 
around as a manager while I run things. Don t ask 
me why I got into such a home-folksy line, unless 
it was because I was removed from it and, there- 


33 2 


JUDD & JUDD 


fore, able to see the need. It was like painting a 
storm while in a comfortable, steam-heated studio. 
At least, I have found that people swamp me with 
orders. The comforts of home—it gets us all on 
the jump! And a satisfying game, too.” Roxy’s face 
softened as it had when she mentioned Leon. “I’ve 
brought to life more women who were sentenced 
to a corner than you can imagine. I have them 
dress ‘like mother used to’—and they get on so well, 
they start bank accounts and express political con¬ 
victions, play favorites with the customers. It peps 
them up no end. I found them in their sons’ third 
story bedrooms and in their daughters’ kitchens— 
lonely boarding houses. I even invaded the old 
people’s home. You should see ‘mother’s’ spirit 
when she knows that she is really wanted. I say, 
Blair, most respectably married women face a 
hideous old age, unless they have a husband like 
Tony who suddenly goes out and makes a fortune. 
Well—I’ve come to my senses as much as can ever 
be expected,” she finished bluntly. “But to think I 
find you here, dressed like a doll, Tony as nervous 
as he is overweight—how did it happen?” Roxy 
leaned forward, her strong fingers patting Blair’s 
arm. “By the way—want a formula for getting 
along comfortably?” 


JUDD & JUDD 


333 


“I do,” Blair was impressed as well as amused. 

“Learn to expect just so much discomfort,” was 
the answer. “Now, consider all I am,” Roxy was 
the former stimulating personality, “so far from per¬ 
fection that I cannot expect perfect bliss with that 
irresponsible Leon whom only I dote upon. And he 
takes advantage of the fact, too. Neither will I 
stand for too much unhappiness. It is seldom neces¬ 
sary. I use my brains about being married to Leon 
as much as for the shop. The original trouble with 
me was being too one sided—I had to find a balance 
wheel. I don’t expect to make a fortune or become 
young and beautiful at sixty. I don’t hope for con¬ 
tinued devotion from Leon—but I’m content, I’ve 
had a small measure of it. And you, dressed for 
a court reception—are you-?” 

“We’ll get nowhere if you try talking about it,” 
Blair protested, “Tony has done amazingly well, 
finance seems to be his right niche. I don’t 
know whether his work pleases him. I’m not 
altogether sure there is much work. He’s reverted 
to the hermitlike habit of keeping his own counsel 
—he merely loses his temper for my benefit. That 
is unfair, too, for he’s been wonderfully gener¬ 
ous and kind. He gives me everything, Roxy—my 
way of helping him seems to be to play up to the 



334 


JUDD & JUDD 


butterfly role he wants me to enact. I don’t do it 
willingly—that much I admit. I don’t intend to 
do it for always. Donovan is eager to leave the 
agency and branch out into his own interests—he 
ought to, at that. The business is dying a slow, 
painless death. I don’t think about it any more 
than is necessary; it seemed inevitable. The chil¬ 
dren’s social needs—and Tony’s—oh, yes, I’m con¬ 
tent, too, Roxy dear.” 

Roxy did not contradict. Blair glanced through 
the French doors to see if Tony was in sight, he 
had been forced to ask Leon if he would look at the 
grounds. 

“I owe you an apology—you know—about Leon. 
What a fool I must have seemed! Poor Leon, he 
tried to make you his muzzy, didn’t he ? Well, you 
acted wisely—even if I do adore him. And remem¬ 
ber, if you ever need me, I’m running the Comforts 
of Home and you can have as many as you want of 
them.” Roxy was actually meek. 

The men rounded the corner and Blair rose to 
meet them. Tony did not urge the Caspars to stay 
for dinner. It was a deucedly inconvenient time to 
have come, he fretted, afterwards. The house was 
halfway dismantled and if they were going to start 
their shop in town, it meant they would try to resume 


JUDD & JUDD 


335 


intimacy with the Judds. He had had hard work 
to refrain from placing Leon on a wheel barrow and 
trundling him to the extreme rear. He was inca¬ 
pable of seeing any serio-comic adjustment between 
Leon and Roxy. He was intolerant of both, all 
he remembered was Leon’s Blair-fixation and the 
newspaper publicity which resulted. He hoped Blair 
gave them to understand they could not be friends. 
Now, had it been Polly and Bill Arnold returning 
to America, that would have been cause for re¬ 
joicing. But there was small chance of that—in¬ 
deed, Polly was about to be presented at court. 

Blair did not argue the matter. She had other 
things to think about—Roxy’s strange transforma¬ 
tion, the practical duties attendant on closing the 
house, the children’s camp, her clothes, Tony’s 
nerves! 


CHAPTER XXXVI 


A few days later, the Judds started on their sum¬ 
mer campaign. The first move was to take the 
children to King Mountain Camp, staying a few 
days to see how life was to go for them. Blair 
enjoyed the camp. Tony, who had taken up his 
quarters on the boys’ side in an honest effort to 
be considered a 'good sport,’ became ill at ease and 
decided he must be feeling the elevation. He did 
not approve of roughing it, as he once championed 
—he admitted to an atavistic tendency to dress for 
dinner and see the beads glistening outside the 
cocktail mixer. He preferred a vaudeville bill 
rather than sitting in a circle around a smoking 
camp fire and taking part in the juvenile discus¬ 
sions. So he cut short his stay and went on to 
New York on business. From there, he wired 
Blair to go direct to the Sterlings’ cottage. He 
would join her as soon as possible. 

Reluctantly, Blair left her children and reached 
Muriel’s villa to find the garden ablaze with June 

336 


JUDD & JUDD 


337 


splendor and the drawing room crowded with 
Cabana’s familiar pomposity. He was one of the 
accepted features of the establishment—as were 
the collection of figurines or Muriel’s clothes. 
Cabana’s money had increased many times since 
developing one-family tracts in the light of a pseudo¬ 
philanthropist. He, too, handled big deals—mysti¬ 
fying term to the layman. He gave too substantial 
evidence of prosperity to question his wealth. 
Cabana was not on paper, therefore he was fond 
of advising others what to do with their money. 
He did this in such an interested, intimate fashion 
that they believed he had a personal concern in the 
matter. But he became unresponsive when anyone 
hinted at this—he was always “heavily involved just 
at this time.” 

Whether Oliver objected to his presence or 
whether he had the right to object was one of those 
unanswered questions which the Sterlings’ guests 
never wearied of asking. Certain it was that 
Sterling in no way was connected with Cabana’s 
business nor did Cabana invest his money through 
Sterling’s offices. Regarding each other, they were 
polite but brief. What dialogues took place be¬ 
tween Muriel and Oliver, only the walls of Muriel’s 
boudoir could have attested. No one had reason to 


338 


JUDD & JUDD 


affirm the suspicions of unlovely scenes in which 
Muriel triumphed over her husband, sneered and 
browbeat him into defeat, told him she tolerated 
him only because it was good form to have a hus¬ 
band about, even if he did not make what she con¬ 
sidered “real money.” He looked like some glum 
spectre when he came into her drawing room. He 
ought to be grateful for all she had done for him. 
But for her ambitions and personality, they would 
still be living in a provincial city, in some cramped 
apartment, patronized by his moth-eaten family. 
She had developed him—now, he must obey her 
and question nothing she chose to do. 

But with all the Sterlings’ success and Muriel’s 
clever prettiness, she was still on the outer edge of 
society, asked only to the large affairs given for 
charity. Never had she managed to be included in 
the sacred, unreported functions where everyone 
called everyone else by their first name. This was 
yet to be achieved. 

Muriel made fun of Oliver to Cabana just as 
she made fun of Cabana to herself. Of all the 
men she knew, Tony Judd seemed the most hand¬ 
some and likeable. Many times, despite social 
ambitions, she called herself a fool for not having 
encouraged Tony’s homage during the days when he 


JUDD & JUDD 


339 


came alone to her house and she could have fasci¬ 
nated him. She might have done worse than to 
have selected Tony as a guardian angel in¬ 
stead of Peter Cabana, for Tony proved he could 
make money, too. Not as much or as reck¬ 
lessly as Oliver, he was still rather virtuous, 
Oliver complained, but under her influence, he 
might have accomplished wonders. Cabana was an 
ungrammatical vulgarian, a bore—but his fortune 
caused even the inner circle to murmur respectfully 
and since he had become fond of her blonde self, 
she could not afford to waste the opportunity. 

When Muriel left Blair’s room, after a welcom¬ 
ing and intimate “my dear” and “my dearest” heart 
to heart visit, she felt she had much for which to 
be thankful. Dressing for dinner in a flamingo 
chiffon with sparkling jet ornaments, she told her¬ 
self she had every reason to be quite satisfied, as 
a matter of fact. Blair looked old, partly due to 
ethereal ideals and unshaved eyebrows! She was 
an outsider with Muriel’s guests but provided 
Muriel with an excellent foil for her own wild 
charms. Tony had wired Blair he would make the 
train for the Sterlings tomorrow afternoon. Muriel 
was to send in to meet him. She was almost buoy¬ 
ant because he would arrive in time for her dance, 


340 


JUDD & JUDD 


there was always a telling contentment in knowing 
she had to struggle for a handsome, married man's 
affection. 

A week later, Tony and Oliver left the cottage— 
and their wives. Cabana had gone to Boston on 
a business conference. It was an almost male-less 
circle left to amuse themselves until the coming 
week-end. Blair felt as if she had walked into a 
cell, done by a fashionable interior decorator, and 
sat stupidly by while the key was turned and 
pocketed by her gaoler-hostess. She counted the 
very hours until Tony should return and she could 
persuade him to stop these mad dashes to the city, 
these inane visits with uncongenial people. 

She had resolved to remain a polite hypocrite 
until the following Friday night. Then she must 
ask Tony to take up the burden for her. She would 
insist she go to see the children and she wrote them 
to this effect. She also noted the fact that Tony had 
left her with little money. After tipping a maid, 
she would be on postage-stamp rations. 

Tony came Friday night, only to be on the offen¬ 
sive when she proposed cancelling the St. Lawrence 
invitation to friends of his. She had begged off from 
the week-end dance Muriel was giving, so Tony 
spent an impatient half hour before he went down- 


JUDD & JUDD 


34i 


stairs. Cabana and Oliver still remained away but 
Muriel filled her thinning ranks with town men 
who were delighted to dance with Mrs. Sterling— 
and then gossip about her afterwards. 

“You must go up there,” Tony said impa¬ 
tiently, in reference to the St. Lawrence visit. He 
offered no interlude of polite argument. Blair was 
rather tolerant when Tony “worked himself into a 
rage.” It seemed a more or less logical process but 
she could not brook this sudden flying into a fury as 
the result of a single remark. 

“If you don’t go there, stay on here,” he added, 
“we have closed the house, the children are happy 
and visiting is not the expense living at a resort 
hotel would be. Besides, we could not get accom¬ 
modations at this late hour. If we went back to 
town, every relation passing through would route 
themselves so they could be with us a week. We 
have no maids—why unsettle everything? Be rea¬ 
sonable. Sometimes, I have to tell myself there is 
no satisfying you—you cannot, will not under¬ 
stand,” he stamped about the room, his hands jing¬ 
ling loose coins in his pockets. 

“It is you who do not understand because you 
don’t want to,” she said. 

“You are neither a flirt or a peacock, I’ll grant 


34 2 


JUDD & JUDD 


you,” he added, passing her. “Fm coming to be¬ 
lieve you’d be satisfied in a print frock and a tramp 
in the woods—you don’t seem to know what to 
do with yourself in our new position—and I did it 
all for you! Watch Muriel, schemer that she is, 
she obtains admirable results. She will land 
Sterling on the top wave in spite of himself.” 

“Do you hanker for the top wave?” Blair said in 
the same, steady tone. “You who used to decry the 
aimless, brainless pastimes of such people as are 
below stairs?” 

“Don’t start the 'used to’ stuff. That gets me all 
wrong. Later, when I am a bona fide millionaire, 
we can adopt the T used to’ patter. Not now— 
while Fm still scrambling. Yes, of course, we 
used to do lots of things,” he added inconsistently. 
“Want me to enumerate them? We used to be sen¬ 
timental boy and girl, we used to be monotonous 
husband and wife, the children disturbing our sleep. 
I used to wear ready made clothes and eat forty 
cent plate luncheons and you used to do the fine 
washing and paint the furniture—I could go on like 
this until midnight—and where would it get us? 
We can never go back to yesterday. Progress is 
an irrevocable law and I, for one, have no desire 
to try breaking it. Fve gone on until I’m regarded 


JUDD & JUDD 


343 


as a rich man—you have to bear me out. If you 
don’t like society and long for your old pastime of 
upsetting domestic tradition, then we can’t stay to¬ 
gether. That’s flat. Down to the bone truth— 
jove, my head aches—I wonder if the stuff I ate 

coming up was tinned-” 

“Let us choose a wiser place to talk,” advised 
Blair, pointing towards the open windows. “This 
may be an effective setting, the faint sounds of a 
waltz are apt to come wafting in as they usually do 

along about the third act but-” 

“There is no time like now,” Tony insisted, his 
temples throbbing, “you are so competent and mat¬ 
ter of fact, hating artifice in any form—tell me, 
do you or do you not want to be my wife? It is 
better to be frank than drag along—oh, don’t bring 
in the children, I know what you will say. The 
children will not be harmed half as much as—I 
will be living with someone who does not appreciate 
me,” he drew in a deep breath and turned his face 
away. Had he been a woman, Tony would have 
burst into tears. Instead, he swept aside a litter of 
toilet articles from a frail stand, their discordant 
clatter soothed his nerves. He had to have some¬ 
thing upset, protesting—Blair’s calm was madden¬ 
ing. 




344 


JUDD & JUDD 


“Ah, there is the waltz,” was Blair's deliberate 
answer. “It will be pretty in the courtyard— 
wonderful moonlight. Muriel will add consider¬ 
able charm to the landscape herself, can you imagine 
another woman wearing pleated white satin and not 
looking a barrel?” 

Tony concealed his failure to impress by a 
coherent, “We will finish this subject later—I wish 
you would consider what I have said-” 

He went down to the dance to claim as many 
numbers as possible with Muriel. True, he was 
ashamed of himself long before the evening ended, 
he longed to run upstairs and ask how Blair’s head¬ 
ache was—and have her tell him she understood 
his brain storm. But he was not keen to tempt her 
to further argument. She had had too much time 
to think up a rebuttal. In the morning, he would 
tell her he had been over emphatic and would she 
realize the strain under which he worked, the ten¬ 
sion caused by competition (and too much smok¬ 
ing, yes, yes, he admitted it—was she satisfied) and 
the gnawing suggestion that she did not love him 
as much as he did her? 

But Blair refused to discuss the subject to Tony’s 
surprise. “I do not think it good form to become 
serious at a house-party,” was her light rejoinder. 



JUDD & JUDD 


345 


“You look dashing in your cream flannels, Tony, 
only I’d wear a blue satin tie. By the way, 
do you realize you have not given me any spend¬ 
ing money since we came—and you borrowed 
twenty of what you gave me when we left 
town?” 

He gave her all that he had on hand and promised 
a check soon. Then he lingered near as if wishful 
of further remarks. 

“I have decided to leave here on Monday,” she 
said in a calm, final manner, “I have written the 
Clipstons that I must be at the children’s camp from 
Monday night until Friday—that will get me to 
the next ‘detention house’ in ample time, I am sure. 
You say you must go dashing off to New York— 
yet you expect me to go on alone when I do not 
know these people intimately. They are so proper 
and wonderful, according to your descriptions, you 
have me frightened ahead of time. I dread the 
maid’s unpacking my trunk, she will feel superior 
after inspecting my lingerie.” 

Tony did not gainsay her. He was anxious that the 
Clipstons like Blair. Mr. Clipston had been a friend 
of his father’s. He assured Blair that Mrs. 
Clipston was most interested in social service 
work, if it did not interfere with her massage 


346 JUDD & JUDD 

appointments, he hoped they would have much in 
common. 

“All right,” he ended briefly, “have it your own 
way. Go to visit the children. I’m due in New 
York Monday afternoon.” 


CHAPTER XXXVII 


Muriel was not sorry to have them gc. As 
long as Blair kept above stairs and gave Tony over 
to her authority, she considered the Judds desirable 
guests. But when Blair, heavy eyed and silent, came 
below to make Tony discuss the garden botanically 
—and drink buttermilk—Muriel was suavely eager 
in her goodbyes. 

Tony and Blair parted at a junction station, 
Tony’s train going on to New York and Blair wait¬ 
ing an hour for the mountain-top local to come by. 
She had wired the camp master to meet her, her 
wardrobe trunk had been expressed on to the Clip- 
stons’, a bag with her hiking clothes was all she re¬ 
quired for the visit. 

She began thinking of the children, the tenseness 
lessening as she planned for a ramble on Tuesday. 
On Wednesday, she might hire a bus and give a 
picnic at some spot discovered during their rambles. 
Thursday, they might treat the camp to a wiener 


348 


JUDD & JUDD 


roast—Friday, she must be busied with going away. 
She was determined not to think ahead, to reserve 
these few days for her children, numbed as to what 
might follow, a sort of nerve-blocking anesthesia. 
She shook her head to emphasize this, unconscious 
of the station master’s stares. 

She was driven inside the station by a shower. 
Here, she found herself breaking her resolution, 
thinking of Tony on his way to New York. Likely 
enough, he was happily ensconced in the smoker, 
trading hip flasks and stories, fretting, fuming, re¬ 
belling between times. 

Blair resolved to make a critical unflinching sum¬ 
mary of their marriage. From their wedding day, 
she would begin weighing carefully, fairly, for 
either side, the incidents and emotions contributing 
to this present dilemma. Having done so, adjust¬ 
ing blame as best she could, she would present her 
case to Tony, decide upon a dignified separation if 
necessary. Blair did not wince at the word divorce. 
Tony did, no matter what he said in the heat of the 
moment. No matter how admirably she presented 
her case, Tony would not be the aggressor in sever¬ 
ing this complex partnership. 

Blair began digging her parasol tip into the rot¬ 
ting basement of the station, as if symbolic of her 


JUDD & JUDD 


349 


search for the underlying truth of the situation. 
Because his wife demanded to continue her inter¬ 
est in the things for which she was adapted, Tony 
had maintained an attitude of careless indifference, 
inwardly hoping for failure. When failure did not 
materialize, he admitted her success with ironical 
grace, only to become grumbling, resentful, antago¬ 
nistic. This attitude, often unvoiced, had demanded 
its psychic toll of her as such an attitude must, al¬ 
though the world remains in ignorance of the crime. 
It was impossible to say, ‘‘This day he discouraged 
me” or “That was the speech that crippled my cour¬ 
age, lost me my self-confidence,” admitted Blair as 
she dug savagely with her parasol point. 

In the world’s eyes, Tony had been admirable. 
But he had stubbornly refused to admit that men 
can gain through the larger life of the modern wife, 
if only men will welcome the necessary education 
which will fit them for this viewpoint. Tony had 
been unfair to himself in refusing to share the re¬ 
sponsibilities of the home, a deeper interpretation of 
marriage than the prayerbook intimates. He cur¬ 
tailed his own possibilities by his insistence that Blair 
had attempted the impossible. He still, due to the in¬ 
adequate measuring stick of the past generations, 
approved de Musset’s description of the ideal wife’s 


350 


JUDD & JUDD 


day. “I rise to go to prayers, to the farmyard, to 
the kitchen. I prepare your meals; I go with you 
to church; I read a page or two; I sew a while and 
then I fall asleep happy upon your breast!” Their 
college associations were important in his eyes only 
as the means of meeting his wife—not of gauging 
the woman. 

“Local for Pine Top, Storm King Mountain—,” 
began the agent, one eye on his solitary passenger 
still engaged in an effete effort to damage public 
property. 

Blair recalled herself. She must not think of 
these things—not until she had visited the children. 


The day of rambles with her son and daughter, 
helped Blair to keep this resolve. Fifteen minutes 
after reaching the camp, she had become concerned, 
with only their reactions and experiences, meeting 
their friends, helping with mess and finally, lying 
on a brief cot bed to stare at the stars and glance 
over in the darkness to where Beatrice slept, realiz¬ 
ing that she had a decided tendency to liberal views 
—and a stunning profile as well! Secretly, Blair ad¬ 
mired her son’s good-natured teasing of his learned 
sister. Anthony junior had been assigned the im- 


JUDD & JUDD 


35i 


portant duty of camp bugler. He was freckled to 
the point of being distinguished and could fool the 
birds when imitating their calls. 

Blair was conscious of the children’s indifferent 
attitude regarding their father. They were relieved 
that he had not come with her. He would be so apt 
to roar if something went wrong or want to get 
himself asked to a dinner dance at the nearby hotel. 
True, he would be generous with pocket money and 
momentarily affectionate, until he discovered his 
watch crystal was smashed or he could not get the 
daily papers. He was as handsome and prosperous 
a week-end daddy as any of the campers could lay 
claim to—but they preferred their mother’s com¬ 
radeship. Blair had felt called upon to defend him 
but she called their attention to the stars, one by 
one blossoming into the sky, instead. After all— 
why defend when the children were right? 

If there were a separation, she persisted in think¬ 
ing, as the camp slept and the sky became a chilly, 
magnificent blue, the children would see him weekly. 
She shivered at the thought, pretending the night 
air made her do so. She unrolled another blanket. 
Then she continued her plans. She would have to 
assume their support—Tony would be undependa¬ 
ble if she co-erced him legally—but that was the 


35 2 


JUDD & JUDD 


least of her difficulties—her business might still be 
revived, her name was still across the door! 

Turning away from the stars, a quick pain shot 
across her forehead, like the rousing prick of a 
sword point. She tried to continue her plans. 
Likely as not, Tony would re-marry some pink and 
white affair radiant from finishing school. And 
why not? He must have someone to dazzle. That 
is another part of glamour’s ritual. 

She sat upright, her breath became short and 
frightened. By the starlight, her wrist watch 
pointed to half after one. Tony needed her! He 
was in grave danger. After seventeen odd years, 
their wireless, their holy of holies was forcing her to 
listen in . . . that other time, Tony had received 
and answered the call. 

The interval of time seemed erased, as a radio¬ 
gram seems to eradicate space. Briefly, she re-lived 
the summer day when she had clung to the ledge of 
rock, mentally calling for Tony and knowing he 
would come. There seemed nothing supernatural 
or forced about that rescue. The result of it was the 
realization that they belonged to each other for all 
time. Later, marvelling over the miracle, awed by 
the proof they had received, they wisely agreed to 
keep it secret. Now- 



JUDD & JUDD 


353 


Blair had begun folding up the camp blankets, 
the pain across her forehead vanished. She was 
answering Tony’s distress call. This, too, seemed 
natural, logical. Even the sleeping camp, the sur¬ 
rounding woods astir with night noises did not 
imbue her with a feeling of absurdity. An early 
milk train left the station nearest the camp some¬ 
where about four o’clock. This connected with 
an express further along—at seven. By this ex¬ 
press, she could make the city inside of five hours— 
a taxi to the house on London Road and she would 
be with Tony. Not once did she remind herself 
that Tony was supposed to be in New York, the 
London Road house locked and unoccupied. 

Neither had Tony, years ago, remembered that 
Blair was presumably at a picnic, surrounded with 
friendly protectors. The wireless was never clut¬ 
tered with picayune details—it knew too exactly. 

She dressed rapidly, packing her bag by the aid of 
a flashlight, writing a note and pinning it on her 
pillow. In it, she told Beatrice some hasty, em¬ 
phatic excuse of having forgotten an important busi¬ 
ness appointment in the city; she would return and 
explain more fully later but it was imperative she 
leave at once. 

Like a burglar, she stole away. The milk train 


354 


JUDD & JUDD 


stopped at the station half a mile off. She was 
uncertain as to the way, for when she arrived they 
had driven to meet her. But she did not doubt her 
ability to find the path as her feet tripped over 
branches and snapped twigs with surprising noises. 
She walked on and on—the wireless guided as well 
as called. 

As she waited for the train, the wireless gave no 
further signals. She was dominated by the same 
driving, silent force which dominated Tony as he 
plunged along the rough road of the Maine woods. 
Not once did she doubt but what she would be in 
time, the wireless never miscalculated. 

When the astonished trainmen took her aboard 
she had no realization of what she said to explain 
this unusual journey. The express train, too, was 
late but Blair comforted herself that the wireless 
must have taken this into consideration. She was 
almost calm as she secured space in the parlor car 
and settled herself for the five hour run. 

As she watched the telegraph poles and fence 
comers swell into towns and the towns combine into 
city outskirts, the thought came to her that she had 
every right to be optimistic as to the outcome of her 
errand. Tony needed her as she needed him be¬ 
cause they were balance wheels, complements, each. 


JUDD & JUDD 


355 


per se, incomplete. Only together could they form 
a successful enduring partnership. She began con¬ 
sidering the virtues and vices, estimating her calm¬ 
ness as against Tony’s excitability, her economy 
versus Tony’s extravagance which could result in a 
common-sense generosity. His matter of fact view¬ 
point benefited from Blair’s imagination, as did his 
egotism and her inclination to morbid self-abase¬ 
ment. They belonged to each other intellectually 
as well. There flashed across her mind the memory 
of undergraduate days, when they worked in part¬ 
nership on the advertising contest, the success of 
which had won Tony his position with Carson and 
Scott. Then she became dismayed at recalling what 
seemed a long-ago lark in the face of possible 
tragedy— Until the station was called, her mind- 
state was that of suspended animation. She would 
neither wonder nor estimate—she would wait. 

The taxi man who drove her to London Road 
had often driven her before. He began chatting 
about the humid temperature, the abundance of 
tourists this season. 

“I took Mr. Judd out home last night,” he volun¬ 
teered, as they turned in the drive, “guess he didn’t 
know when your train got in or he’d have been down 
to meet you.” 


35^ 


JUDD & JUDD 


The pain across her forehead returned for an in¬ 
stant. She paid the man generously and left him to 
his own conclusions. So had Mr. Judd! The man 
left with the conviction that nice people were often 
queer and if the world ever knew all that transpired 
in the suburbs—well, it would know quite a hand¬ 
ful! 

Blair took her latch key to unlock the door. 
Glancing at the wooden shutters, her gaze wandered 
upwards to a hall window opened half its length, 
the curtains streaming out untidily. The heat sud¬ 
denly oppressed her. She felt weak, as if she 
would sink down when the door yielded to the key. 

Then she breathed in the dark, stale atmosphere 
of the hall. Tony’s wraps and train literature lay 
carelessly on the carved bench. Here, the wire¬ 
less ceased its illuminating guidance. 

An upstairs door banged. She knew it to be the 
door of Tony’s den. She darted towards the stairs, 
reaching the top landing in time to hear him give 
a stifled cry. Then she re-opened the door. In a 
comprehending glance, she realized why she had 
come. 

Endless papers and tape-tied bundles of docu¬ 
ments were strewn over his desk. The shades were 
drawn, a picture of the children and herself, taken 


JUDD & JUDD 


357 


for some long-ago holiday, had been snatched off 
the wall and then flung face downward on top of 
this debris—in the tenseness of the moment. Blair 
recognized the frame. 

Fully dressed, sitting behind the desk, his head 
bent in an attitude of shamed defeat, was Tony. 
He started up at the sound of her step but uttered 
no word of surprise or resentment. In his blood¬ 
shot, tired eyes, Blair read his cheap intention, em¬ 
phasized by his frantic hand which held a gun. 

He was no longer the pompous man of affairs 
but a desperate human being broken by his efforts 
to seek the “big stuff.” Tony had proceeded on the 
old fallacy that every square deal is entitled to have 
four sharp corners but he had never taken into 
consideration what might lurk around any one of 
the same. 

“Tell me from the very first,” Blair ordered sim¬ 
ply. The tension vanished, as she took the gun. 
He felt safe, just as Blair had felt when he lifted 
her from the rock ledge. 

“Why did you come here?” he asked, almost 
fearful of her answer. 

“The wireless—our wireless. I knew I would 
be in time just as I knew we belonged to each other, 
we must never think otherwise. It seems as simple 


358 


JUDD & JUDD 


as it is stupendous; real forces do. Only imita¬ 
tions have the complex veneer. Now tell me— 
everything.” 

“Our wireless,” with a hoarse cry. Tony buried 
his head on Blair’s shoulder, “if it was that—you 
are right—we belong—we can begin again. Begin 
together.” He struggled for brief, illuminating 
phrases. “The morning papers—seen them?” 
“No.” 

His unsteady left hand pulled to view the sensa¬ 
tional report exposing Oliver Sterling’s bucketing 
of orders, followed by his unmoved admittance of 
how, while carrying over four hundred thousand 
dollars in liabilities, he offset the deficit by trading 
against customers, selling “short” against their pur¬ 
chases. Taking the trend of a client’s order as a 
barometer, he had expected the market to go down 
when a customer bought, whereas the customer ex¬ 
pected the reverse. Therefore, when ordered to 
buy certain stocks, he promptly sold short in the 
same stock. The market continuing to rise, cus¬ 
tomers demanded stock profits and there had been 
neither money nor securities with which to pay 
them. Although Sterling moved to New York to 
give the impression of being allied with metro¬ 
politan interests, his customers had been from the 


JUDD & JUDD 


359 


various states in the Union. He had maintained 
branch offices in small cities and citizens of these 
states, through the New York district attorney, had 
demanded an explanation of Sterling and his myth¬ 
ical partners of whom he boasted. There had been 
no partners; neither had he betrayed anxiety or 
remorse at his own misdeeds. He owed everyone 
and for everything. His wife, a charming hostess 
at a fashionable resort, had been reported as pros¬ 
trated at this denouncement. She had, without 
delay, stated she would in no way stand by her 
husband or shield him. Sterling had then shot him¬ 
self through the heart. 

Blair read the story from long-distance range. 
When she finished, she looked down at Tony’s head 
pressed tightly against her shoulder. 

“Are you the same?” 

“No—not quite. But I helped him in his damned 
thieving without knowing I did. I believed he 
was as square as it is possible to be—and make his 
sort of money. I didn’t know how much raw stuff 
he had pulled. He fooled me as well as his cus¬ 
tomers—but who would believe me ? Only you! I 
thought him a plunger but not a burglar. I took the 
chances he told me—I played into his hands. He 
traded on my reputation while I thought myself 


360 


JUDD & JUDD 


favored by his recommendations—it has been faintly 
distinct to me for weeks—but I couldn’t see any 
way out unless I made a killing that would wipe out 
every obligation or unless I turned evidence. . . . 
I’ve been unable to pin him down, to get any satis¬ 
faction. Nothing bothered him except when his wife 
declared herself! Then he did what I was going 
to do—got out of the mess and left someone else 
to clear it up! Don’t you hate me? Think what 
it would have meant if—if you hadn’t come . . . 
I can make good everything but it leaves me flat. 
We’d have to begin without as much as we had 
at Twilldo—without that youth and ambition that 
you only value when you have wasted it. Oh, I’ve 
done a remarkable job—trying to keep my wife 
home! Well—I don’t expect you to stand by—it 

was not your fault—let me go adrift-” 

“This house is Twon’tdo,” she announced 
clearly. Tony lifted his head to listen. “I won¬ 
der why we never thought of naming it before. It 
is Twon’tdo. We’ve each had a try at not ac¬ 
cepting our personal universe—but we can’t refuse 
again. We are duty bound to fall into step. I can¬ 
not dash away from you, neither can you pace ahead 
and fancy I’ll creep contentedly behind. The first 
time the wireless worked, it was in the matter of 



JUDD & JUDD 


361 


physical danger. This time it involves spiritual 
destiny. Fine sounding words, Tony—but very 
simple, after all. Briefly, you must grow up, want 
a wife instead of a combination mother-and-sweet- 
heart. Forgive my brusqueness, but this is no time 
for more drama,” her eyes straying to the laid- 
aside gun. 

“Please go on,” he said somewhat disinterestedly. 

“You must realize a husband should be the 
esoteric help a wife usually is, it is often the attitude 
men assume towards the women, who ask for logi¬ 
cal sequence in their interests, which determine 
whether or not that request can be granted. We 
must have sequence if we are to avoid nervous 
wrecks, universal discontent. We must not ask for 
more than a fraction of outside interests because 
we must find contentment in giving the greater part 
to the home. You men must reverse the formula— 
and follow it. Until this modern understanding is 
brought to pass, women will impulsively abandon 
their great career of wife and motherhood and let 
civilization take the consequences.” 

“Would you favor that?” Tony asked, as if per¬ 
sonal problems were nonexistent. 

“Better the wreckage of unfair conditions and a 
new and just reconstruction than to continue with 


362 


JUDD & JUDD 


the handicap of indifference, ridicule, oppression. 
Everything is relative—I am not expecting others 
to meet or approve our individual needs. But what 
is the use of women going on with formal edu¬ 
cation unless men have not only tolerance and 
sympathy but a keen desire to see us demonstrate 
what we have acquired? The old definition of home 
and home life has changed—whether we like or ap¬ 
prove it. Why not co-operate in finding the best 
interpretation of the modern definition? As for 
ourselves, I’m not minding this as some would—it 
is all a part of finding what we ought to be to each 
other—so was Twilldo and the White Elephant 
and the Bungahigh and Headquarters—and now, 
Twon’tdo! We can begin again—together. We 
have never once been what we should.” 

“You say this of man and wife?” he asked.* 

“Exactly. Man and wife instead of man and 
woman! We have been Judd and wife most of 
the time, Judd and Norcross some of it. For an 
interval, it was Norcross and Judd. Don’t you be¬ 
lieve it ought to be Judd and Judd?” 

“I’m afraid I do,” he said sincerely. “Just as I 
tried not to believe it.” He held her in his arms. 
“All right, Blair, you’ve outlined our platform. 
My part will be to hold you to it.” He squared his 


JUDD & JUDD 363 

shoulders as if to surrender without reservation. 
“It is Judd & Judd” 

Blair sank down at the disordered desk, her hands 
gathering in a wild confusion of papers. “I have to 
handle something—or I’ll cry,” she said incoher¬ 
ently, “by and by, I’ll be able to sit still and we can 
plan.” 

“You’ll still be my lovely?” he was unable to 
help the clumsy repetition of what was still nearest 
his heart, “perhaps I’m dazed or you may have been 
vague—but you’ll still be the little mother—at home 
sometimes?” 

“I shall still be all that—and more,” she promised, 
shuffling the papers together as if they were mam¬ 
moth playing cards. “I don’t ask for a severe 
office schedule. I could not endure under it and keep 
the home, too. But I want to be a welcome per¬ 
son when I assert myself as your partner, I want 
to be vital in the business as you must be vital 
at home with the children. Oh, we’re not out of 
the woods, yet,” she added wisely, “after this 
emotional crisis has ended and we’ve cleared up 
debts and retrenched and stood for criticism 
and rude questions and found out the few real 
friends we can call our own—then will come the 
test.” 


364 


JUDD & JUDD 


“What test?” he asked, sitting on the arm of her 
chair, lifting off her hat and stroking her brown 
hair. “Can there be any more than now?” 

“Perhaps no more—but as much,” she insisted. 
“Then will come the time of realizing all you have 
agreed to—all I have undertaken. You will have 
moments of regret that you conceded under the 
heat of an emotional strain. I will have moments 
of self-pity that I did not seize this opportunity 
to blaze the trail for only myself. You will ques¬ 
tion my ability, I will disagree with your judgment 
—we will not react the same to some of the chil¬ 
dren’s problems, I have been accustomed to judg¬ 
ing them so long. But we will meet the test,” she 
ended. “Oh, I am sure of it.” 

“And I am ready to be proven.” 

“Do you know what our emotion will be, when 
this has come about?” 

“No,” Tony swept the gun back into the drawer, 
as if ashamed to even look at his contemplated 
madness. “Despite your warnings, I am ready to 
believe what you tell me. Later on, I may contra¬ 
dict—but not now,” their lips met in an understand¬ 
ing kiss before she answered. 

“It will be a more enduring emotion than triumph 
or self-preservation,” she spoke with the swiftness 


JUDD & JUDD 


365 


of one who is sure, “it will be an impersonal joy 
for the victory over man’s blind pessimism and 
women’s hysterical protests—a victory possible for 
every Judd and Judd, if only they have faith!” 


THE END 



































Up and Coming 

By 

Nalbro Bartley 

An immigrant couple are married in 
the lion's cage at a circus, thereby re¬ 
ceiving much publicity and a set of cheap 
furniture. From this beginning the 
author carries their stock through three 
generations to the fulfilment of their 
ambitions in Jones By night 
Jones is the personification of a class 
—those of humble origin who have ac¬ 
quired an uneasy cultivation of mind 
and taste—and his development to self- 
mastery is a thing of highest interest. 


G. P. Putnam’s Sons 

New York London 





ECHO 

By 

Margaret Rivers Larminie 

The theme of this novel is suggested 
by the quotation on the title page: 
The sound of a kiss is not so loud as 
that of a cannon , but its echo lasts a 
deal longer. The development of the 
plot is both subtle and original, and 
marked with that fine intimacy of 
portraiture and sense of style that 
so distinguished the author’s previous 
novel, “Search.” 

“ Miss Larminie is the herald of a new 
type of romance, which is at once true to 
bealxty and true to fact.” 

—Daily Express (London). 


G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS 

New York London 




y—- 

THE GRAYS 


BY 

CHARLOTTE BACON 

“At last it has come. We have had 
novel after novel, and play after play, up¬ 
holding the right of youth, the duty of 
parents to give their children freedom, the 
sacred need for self-expression, the passion 
for making one’s bed and lying in some 
one else’s. And here in The Grays is 
Mrs. Bacon writing a very able and care¬ 
ful story against the egotist, particularly 
against that troublesome wastrel, the 
egotist with the artistic temperament. . . . 
A first novel of exceptional promise, 
marked by real optimism of outlook.” 

Westminster Gazette 


G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS 

NEW YORK 


LONDON 





Mainspring 

By 

V. H. Friedlaender 

For once in a modern novel the theme 
is not “the progress of some male or female 
person towards matrimony,” but of the 
growth of a soul, of self-realization through 
suffering. Each life has its mainspring, 
its essential force, which may require 
sacrifice; the story of Bridget Gale is the 
story of a genius for painting which con¬ 
quered disappointment and sorrow and 
finally love itself. 

“Mainspring” is the first novel of Miss 
Friedlaender, who is already well-known 
in this country for her short stories. She 
writes with earnestness and charm and 
with extraordinary fidelity to life—and 
literature. 


G. P. Putnam’s Sons 

New York London 




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